Darkness and Dreams
by A Dreaming Songbird
Summary: The Batterwitch rules the star system with an iron claw. Four young men and women are determined to set the world to rights by igniting the spark of revolution, but they are few and have almost no training in either their magical abilities or running a rebellion. And is that prophecy ever going to come true? (Full summary inside! Starring the kids, particularly alphas.)
1. Chapter 1: Meet Jane

_Author's Note: _This is a little bit of a complicated AU, at least in my head! Basically, on some unknown planet in a star system that's controlled by the empire of the Batterwitch, society is ruled by an iron fist and divided into classes. No one knows the original basis for this class system, but now, if you're born in a caste, you stay there. Many people are born with inherent magical gifts, but those with useful ones are usually taken from their homes and never seen again. Rumor has it they serve the Batterwitch's guard or army or personal service, depending on the ability-healers are usually sent to the battlefront, for example, as are seers, while conjurers can be kept in the castle to maintain an endless supply of anything she might want. The people under the Empress are desperate and miserable; they are ready for change.

Jane Crocker and Jake English both reside in the lower district of the city. They are both fortunate enough not to live in the dark districts, a place infamous for its extreme poverty, high crime rate, and higher fatality rate. If you go into the dark districts, chances are you won't come out. They are the most dangerous part of the city, and everyone who grows up there is hard and cruel. Even so, Jane and Jake have difficult lives, with long, wearying jobs from dawn til dusk every day. Jane has a strong magical talent for healing. Jake has some sort of magic, but no one really knows what it does-he has been able to do things from conjure lights to somehow inspire people to follow him.

Roxy Lalonde and Dirk Strider both live in the upper district. Dirk is a student of robotics and engineering with a fiery passion and gift for captivating audiences, while Roxy is a cunning student of law who often hides her intellect behind a bottle or three. Their lives are much easier than their companions', but that doesn't mean they support the rule of the Batterwitch. The law of the land is corrupt and unfair. Dirk, like Jake, has somewhat inscrutable magic. Roxy suspects his power has something to do with both influencing people and some sort of ability to get into their heads, but not quite-but no one has really seen it in action. Roxy's powers include conjuring little green cubes and vegetables, and did she somehow turn her hand invisible once?

Together, these four unlikely compatriots hope to be the spearhead of the movement heralding change in their society-and perhaps, while they're at it, the prophecy declaring the arrival of powerful mages to alter the fate of the world might come true. Amidst it all, whispers persist in the dark, rumors of a shadowy fear of the unfamiliar but terrifying figure of nightmares: Lord English, the demon prince, who returns to end the world...

* * *

Jane Crocker adjusted the hood covering her face, removing her glasses and slipping them into her pocket. The long brown robe and cloak were inconspicuous enough to hide her, so long as nothing else—like the sheen of glass in the street light, or the glint of jewelry—stood out. Satisfied with her appearance, she nodded at the girl in the mirror and stepped outside into the stone pavement, locking her apartment behind her. This was the lower district, which no one really saw fit to upgrade to the electronic suites, so she actually had to keep a physical key on her person, unlike the person she was going to meet.

But she wasn't heading to the upper districts; instead, Jane ducked into a winding alley, keeping her head down and tread light and fast. Left turn here, right here, next right past this one, down the steps, through the tunnel, left turn again, find the appropriate disguised wall panel... here! Fumbling around in the dark was annoying, but it was better than hanging a light out here, or even bringing one, that might attract attention.

A small section of wall slid inwards, though in the pitch black of the tunnels she couldn't tell anything save the little _whoosh_ of air it made. Jane carefully walked into the newly revealed hallway and stood still. The section of wall seamlessly slid back into place, as if it had never moved to begin with. In the hidden room on the other side, a dim light appeared, beckoning her down some more stairs.

A minute or so of walking down the corridor later, Jane arrived at the room she was looking for. It was bright, spacious, and warm and welcoming, walls white with "windows" supplied by Roxy that showed images of beautiful places elsewhere, and piles of cushions dotted the floor between couches and tables. In one corner was a kitchenette, complete with a stove and several cabinets stocked with food.

Roxy herself sat sprawled on one of those piles of cushions. "Janey!" she exclaimed, sitting up as Jane entered with a friendly wave. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Sorry," Jane came to sit on the floor too. "I left home a bit late. Lil' Seb was causing a mess!" Lil Sebastian was a present from one of their friends. He kept Jane's home secure, even if he was a bit of a headache at times. Silly little rabbit robot.

"Ohhhh," Roxy nodded understandingly. "Robots can be ridiculous, right?"

"Right," Jane sighed. "So, why did you call me over early?"

"I just missed you!" Suddenly she was pressed against her friend in a spontaneous embrace. "It's been so long since we just hung out, you know?"

Jane laughed. "Yes, you're right, it has. –Oh, Roxy, let go for a second! I put my glasses in my pocket."

Once they were on her face, the room was in much better focus. There were leaves on the trees in the pictures on the walls! Who would've thought.

"So, how was your day?" Jane asked, settling onto the cushions next to Roxy.

Roxy rolled her eyes, taking a delicate sip of the martini next to her. "Boring. We did nothing in classes, as usual. It's a good thing I'm here and not just in university, because how else would I ever get to use my mad skills?" she snorted. "How was your day, Janey?"

"Not that great. I worked at a soup kitchen today... I know I don't need to tell you this, but there are so many people miserable out there! No matter how much food I made there were always still more hungry in line. It's so sad!" she sighed. Roxy patted her hand sympathetically.

"It'll get better. We're making it better, remember?"

Jane nodded, still looking unsatisfied. "I know... I just wish it were faster or something!"

"So do I, so do I."

"I know, it can't be, I know. It's just so hard seeing people like that."

"Jane, your heart is just too big for this world," Roxy sighed, poking Jane's nose.

Jane giggled. "Don't tell me yours isn't!"

"Did I ever say that?" Roxy winked cheekily. "But really. You're too nice to everyone! It worries me sometimes."

Jane smiled sheepishly, biting her lip for just a second. There was something she wasn't telling her friend... it involved her being "too nice" and also how that might come back to haunt her. She just _knew_ Roxy would disapprove and want to protect her, but it was something important enough that Jane felt it was quite necessary to do! Neither Roxy nor Dirk knew, for that matter; only Jake had any idea, and he didn't like it, either. But he didn't try to stop her, at least.

Roxy narrowed her eyes. "Janey," she said accusingly. "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"What? Me? No, never!" Jane laughed nervously, shaking her head a little too enthusiastically.

"Jane."

"I'm not, seriously!"

"Janey, you are the worst liar I've ever met. What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing!" Jane tried again, giving Roxy a winning, innocent smile.

"_Jane._"

Jane fidgeted. "Ha, there is really nothing at all that you should be suspicious about! You're just... you're being overzealous, that's all!"

Roxy leveled a stern look at her. "Now, see here, missy!" she wagged a finger at Jane, then took a large sip from her martini. "You are an awful liar, and I am saddened," she dramatically cast her hand to her forehead, "that you thought I would fall for that! Not only do I need to give you lessons on how to more convincingly lie to people, but seriously, what are you hiding?"

Jane bit her lip again. "Um... nothing much, just... something... I... yeah."

Roxy had just opened her mouth to say something else when the screen by the door pinged to say that someone had just opened the outer door.

The regular meeting wasn't for an hour yet...

Jane felt her heart leap to her throat. On the one hand, this provided an excellent opportunity to hide her little secret from Roxy—but who was there?

Exchanging glances, they both quickly lowered the lights and stood on opposite sides of the door from the main hallway, the only apparent way into the room, each holding something that could possibly function as a weapon—Jane a little knife from her boot, and Roxy a wine bottle.

Footsteps approached.

Just as they were about to tackle the mystery intruder, he called out: "Dirk? Roxy? Jane? Are you here?"

Both girls breathed sighs of relief, melting away from the shadows to the main room again and turning the lights back on properly.

"Shucks, Jake!" Jane scolded. "You nearly gave us both a heart attack!"

Jake stood in the doorway, looking halfway between bemused and worried. "I do apologize," he said sheepishly. "But we are meeting today, are we not?"

"Yeah, but not for another hour. We weren't expecting you!"

"I was not expecting you either! I just knew something was up because I could have sworn the lights were on a moment back."

Jane and Roxy exchanged sheepish glances. "Oops. I guess we didn't act fast enough."

Jake shrugged, plopping down on the couch. "At least nothing did happen," he pointed out. "So are you ladies the only ones here, or is Dirk also?"

"Just us, having some nice lady time, you know, talking about girl things and hanging out in a female fashion," Roxy replied. Jake blushed.

"Sorry, I just didn't see the point of going home now, since I was already on this side of town, so..."

Jake's home was a longer walk from the hide-out, about twenty minutes. He and Jane lived near each other in the lower quarter, while Roxy and Dirk lived in the upper.

"It's okay, you can be a lady too, Jake," Roxy grinned. "Just put on a dress and some makeup. And smooch Dirk when he walks in."

Jane choked. Jake blushed deeper. Roxy's grin grew.

"Make sure you put on way too much lipstick first too, or even better let me do it for you," she continued loftily. "And we can put some on Janey as well and _everyone _smooches Dirk, so he can have three kisses from three lovely ladies!"

"Jane," Jake said, "I do believe Roxy is slightly drunk again. Is she?"

"When is she not?" Jane asked in reply, shaking her head.

"That is a good point," Roxy interjected. "I'm only slightly drunk. I should get more drunk. Oh, but we have a meeting, so I can't! See, only tipsy for now."

Jane groaned. "You are ridiculous, Ro-Lal."

Roxy grinned again. "Thank you, thank you."

"That was not supposed to be a compliment..."

"It totally was!"

"No..."

"Was too!"

"No, not really."

"Yes it was!" Roxy sang. "Also, Jake! Jane has some sort of little secret that she's not telling me. Has something to do with her being too nice to everyone."

Jane froze, then smacked Roxy with a pillow. "Shush! Drop it already!"

"And suddenly," the taller girl noted, "you stop denying it in front of Jake. Could it be," she continued, her gaze sliding to Jake, "that you already know?"

"I said, _drop _it!" Jane complained. "It's not that big a deal, but you'd be mad at me."

"Is this about—oh. Oh my," Jake interrupted, looking at Jane with wide eyes. "You mean you didn't tell them? Jane, I think you really ought to, what if something happens and I can't get to you—"

"Shush!" Jane cried again. "I'll tell them when I feel like they won't get mad at me over it."

"If it's not a big deal, why can't you say?" Roxy prodded.

Jane's gaze flickered between both of her friends, then dropped to her hands. "I..."

"Jane," Jake said quietly. "I hope you realize we're only concerned for you."

"Later."

"Jane—"

"I said, I'll tell you later."

"When's later?" Roxy frowned, her hands on her hips now. The empty glass which had held the martini lay on the floor, discarded.

"Um... next week, after the big rally? When we're less stressed out?" Hopefully they'd have forgotten by next week.

Roxy narrowed her eyes, then made the 'I'll be watching you' gesture with two fingers. "Fine, but whatever it is, you be careful, understand?"

"I promise," she said with relief.

"Good! Now, back to doing lady things, right?"

Jane laughed. "Yes. Hey, did you restock the kitchen after last meeting? I could bake some cupcakes or something!"

Roxy squealed and tackled Jane for another spontaneous hug. "You are the absolute best, Janey! Let's have sugar. Jake, what do you say?"

"Boy howdy, yes, I would love some cupcakes! You wouldn't mind making them, Jane, would you?" he said eagerly, sitting up straighter.

Jane laughed. "Of course not! You know I love baking!" She lightly stepped past the sofa on which he sat, ruffling his hair playfully as she passed on her way to the kitchen. "Come on, Ro-Lal! You can help me measure ingredients. Jake, you look like you're dead on your feet! Take a nap or something?"

"Righty-ho, brilliant suggestion," he agreed.

Eventually poor Jake, bored of waiting and tired from a hard day's work, fell asleep on the sofa.

Upon seeing him there, Jane set down the tray of freshly baked chocolate cupcakes and considered him, then grinned deviously. "I'll be nice and get him a blanket," she decided. "But also... it's Crocker prank time!" she crowed. Roxy guffawed.

"Yes, yes, yes, go get him!"

A few minutes later, an elaborate hand-drawn mustache resided on Jake's face. Jane surveyed her work, then spread a wool blanket over her sleeping friend. Roxy also took it upon herself to paint his nails hot pink, then decided to paint Jane's too—sky blue for her.

"Perfect," Jane said in satisfaction as she put the marker back in the drawer from which it originated, being very careful not to smudge her nails.

"I can't wait to see his face when he wakes up," Roxy giggled, taking a bite of a cupcake.

Jane flopped onto the cushions next to Roxy. "So... what do we do now?"

Roxy eyed her, grinning with the same devious intent that moments before had shone in Jane's blue eyes.

Jane edged away suspiciously. "Oh no, what're you about to—hey!"

Roxy cackled, licking the excess frosting from her finger. She had swiped it through the layered frosting on the cupcake and then poked Jane's nose again, leaving a little dollop of pink cream there.

Jane laughed and reached up to wipe it off, but instead at the last second lunged forward to swipe some more cream and smeared it over Roxy's cheek.

A frosting war ensued after that and after a good twenty or thirty minutes went by in that fashion, they both finally went to clean up. Luckily, Jane baked lots of cupcakes and five remained untouched.

They slumped onto the couch together, clothes covered in water here and there from washing out frosting. "So," Jane said after a moment, starting to giggle again at the sheer absurdity of having a frosting battle with your good friend while trying to plan a revolution. "What now?"

Roxy shrugged. "We've gotta wait til Dirk gets here, so... Cards?"


	2. Chapter 2: Revolutionaries

They had just finished the fifth game when the screen pinged again. That was most likely Dirk.

Indeed, the final member of their group entered the hideout not long after, taking in the sleeping Jake (covered by that woolen blanket, because Jane said they could still be nice while pranking) and card-playing Roxy and Jane in a glance.

"Hi, Dirk," Jane greeted with a smile.

"Hey, Jane, Roxy," he replied, crossing the room to come sit next to them. "How long has he—" he gestured to Jake's prone form "—been out?"

"About twenty, thirty minutes," Jane answered. "Should we wake him up?"

"Well, we _are_ having a meeting, so that might be beneficial." Dirk was nothing if not a master of sass when he wanted to be.

Roxy turned to gently shake Jake. "Hey, sleepyhead," she sing-songed. "Wake up!"

"Hmm... Oh. 'm awake, I'm awake," Jake mumbled, opening his eyes. "Where are my glasses?"

Jane passed them to him, exchanging glances with Roxy. Dirk noticed that and then the mustache, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Oh for heaven's sake. Jake, did you really fall asleep when—"

"Shhh!" Roxy interrupted, smacking him with a pillow. "We're nice, Dirk. Even when there is a meeting scheduled, we let poor Jake sleep."

"Oh, is it already meeting time? I'm dreadfully sorry if I delayed us!" Jake said, putting his glasses on. Wait... were his nails—

"_Jane_," he complained.

"What?" she asked innocently, then ruined her façade by giggling. "I didn't do it, honestly! That was Roxy."

"Good gracious, Roxy!" he complained, aghast, as he stared at the ridiculously bright color.

"Janey's idea!"

"Was not!"

"Janey always comes up with the fun ideas though."

"I... don't want to deny that, but on the other hand that really wasn't my idea!"

Dirk just watched the proceedings with amusement, raking a long-fingered hand through his hair. "Guys, guys! Business first, manicures later."

"Wait, before we start business, I made cupcakes!" Jane interjected, beaming and holding out the plate. Five pristine cupcakes remained. A suspicious smudge of frosting marred the edge of the plate; Roxy snickered.

Jake grinned broadly, grabbing one. "Thanks a ton, Jane, you know I absolutely adore your cupcakes!"

"You're welcome!" she laughed, about to say something else when he continued:

"It goes a ways towards settling the score since you either let or urged Roxy to paint my nails pink."

"We have a large rally planned for three days from now in the lower fifth square. Is everyone still okay with that?"

Three heads nodded in unison.

"Excellent."

"I've been spreading the word as best as I can," Jane chimed in. "Several people from my neighborhood are planning to attend, from what I've heard."

"Er, pardon me, but there is one remaining detail that remains obfuscated to me. How exactly are you planning on maintaining anonymity in a rally? Even if we are going to be in the lower districts, the Witch has cameras and spies everywhere." Jake looked a little doubtful.

"Disguises," Dirk said simply. "Hide your face, don't let them see. Plus, _someone _has to stand up on stage and direct the attention of the people, make a statement. It may as well be me. And no, I don't want any of you up there with me!" he added, frowning at them. Roxy opened her mouth to protest, but Dirk shook his head. "It's too dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"This is a _joint operation_, Dirk," Roxy retorted. "If I want to be up there, I will!"

"We _have _held smaller rallies with all of us on the stage," Jake said reasonably. "Surely even with a larger crowd we can manage?"

"Well, someone should probably stay on lookout, too. And one of us, I mean, not even our supporters..." Jane sighed. "The sad truth is some of them would turn us in for a crust of bread."

"Working on it, Janey," Roxy reiterated, patting Jane's hand.

"I can keep watch," Jake volunteered. "Not cut out for public speaking, me."

"Dirk, I'd like to speak on stage with you," Jane said earnestly. "I think the message will be clearer if we present a united front, upper and lower districts together."

Dirk paused to consider, then sighed and shook his head. "Fine. I don't like it, but it'll be better, like you say."

"Well, I guess I'm stuck with Jake on watch duty and crowd whispering!" Roxy said, sitting back on her heels. "Better keep an eye on those nails, hm, English?"

Jake gave her a wounded look.

A companionable silence fell between them, each pondering the fate of the world on which they lived. The Batterwitch's iron claws pervaded every inch of it, and some places were even worse—there were whispers of substance behind the old tale of Lord English, the supposed rival or even superior of the Batterwitch. But that wasn't really the concern the four here assembled had. They just wanted a free world to live in.

Jane suddenly flopped onto her back, head on Jake's lap as she stared at the ceiling. "Do you think the prophecy will come true in our lifetimes?"

"Gadzooks, Jane! Do you mean to say you doubt it?" Jake exclaimed, looking down at her with an aghast expression.

"I just... we've been waiting years already, and there's been no sign of these legendary heroes that actually can use their powers to do something more useful than conjure up little green cubes or heal things! Are they even real?"

"Hey!" Roxy complained. "I like my little green cubes."

"Healing powers aren't some sort of bad thing," Dirk said mildly.

"But they don't help us _do _anything," Jane sighed, looking at her fingers. "Your power, well, I honestly don't know much about how it works. Or Jake's. You just have them, we know. I can fix a scraped knee or broken arm, sure, and don't get me wrong, I love helping everyone, it's just I feel like if I had different powers maybe I could do something better!"

"Don't worry so much," Jake assured confidently, leaning over to pat her hand. "It'll work out. They'll come soon, you'll see!"

"From where, though? You'd think we'd have heard of them by know. All we know is that they're out there somewhere. Supposedly."

"That is good enough for me!" said a cheerful Jake.

"I hope so," Jane murmured, looking up at him and then grinning at her handiwork—what a fabulous mustache. "By the way, Jake?"

"Yes?"

"Did you look in a mirror recently?"

He frowned. "No, why...?"

"Just do it," she replied, sitting up again and waving him off.

Still bemused, the boy stood and walked to the bathroom.

"_Jaaaane!_"

* * *

Later, they disbanded to go to their homes, agreeing to meet in three days for the rally. It was their largest yet, and the most likely to actually attract some attention from the Batterwitch's forces.

Such was the peril of living in the capital city.

They separated in the tunnels, Jane and Jake turning to the south to reenter the lower districts while Dirk and Roxy continued north.

"Next time you can manage to get some off time, let me know, okay Jane?" Roxy said, pausing to look earnestly in her friend's direction despite the pitch-black surroundings. "We need to have a girls' night or something! Watch a movie, have some cake, whatever. And you can tell me your deepest, darkest secrets," she added pointedly. "Promise?"

"Yeah, of course!" Jane agreed, smiling in the near-darkness. "We can do that soon."

"Great! Okay, bye then!" Roxy skipped forward to hug Jane again, then stepped back, waving.

"Bye, Roxy! Bye, Dirk!" Jane and Jake both called, then went on their way. Jane intertwined her fingers with Jake's.

"How was your day?" she asked him as they walked.

"Laborious, as usual," he sighed, swinging their arms slightly. "But we finished the latest project two days ahead of schedule. The ol' boss was pleased enough that he let us leave early today, which is why I showed up ahead of time!"

"Wow, two days? You guys must have been working around the clock—or, more than usual!"

Jake laughed. "We have, we have! But to be quite fair, Jane, it was also a rather simple project. At least, on our end. I do detest having to work in that deplorable factory making things for her like we do, but..."

Jane squeezed his hand. "We do what we have to to make ends meet. After all, there's no use being a gallant hero if you can't eat, right?"

"Indeed, indeed!"

They emerged from the tunnels into the moonlit streets, illuminated by the occasional streetlamp as well. Jane drew her cloak around herself more closely with one hand, not out of worry of being seen so much as of a want to dispel the chill from the wind. It was early spring, and winter was only beginning to leave. Jake noticed her little shiver, and being the gentleman he was but not having a coat to offer, just released her hand and instead wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Jane smiled up at him gratefully.

"I can't wait for spring to finally get here," she said.

"You want to start planting your flowers, is that so?" Jake chuckled. The previous year, Jane had tried to plant a garden. It had gone well for about a week, until she discovered that she was not only just too busy, but she was also a bad gardener. The time she mixed up the fertilizer and weed-killer served as endless amusement to her friends.

"Oh, hush!" she laughed, feeling her face heat even in the cool wind. "I just want to be warm, no garden this year."

Jake laughed too. "Well, Jane, I do believe you are capable of planting a garden that grows properly! I have the highest confidence that if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything."

The best thing was, he actually meant it. Jake had a heart of gold. Jane smiled again. "Thank you. Say, aren't you quite the gardener yourself? Maybe you could give me a few pointers!"

"Well, primarily I grow pumpkins. They're easy enough to cultivate, for whatever reason. But I could try! Do you want to, really?"

She tilted her head slightly, considering. "Hm... Perhaps not this year, I think we'll be a little busy, you know?"

"Yes, yes," Jake agreed.

"But next year, when everything's settled," she continued hopefully, "I'd love to learn how to actually garden!"

"Well, I'd love to teach you!" Jake grinned. They walked in a companionable silence through the dim streets, avoiding some roads and being careful where they turned, as usual. The lower quarters could be a dangerous place. That had been how they met, actually—Jake had been Jane's knight in shining armor when she was being jeered at by some street lowlife. Even now, she felt safer just walking with his arm around her, even though they were still at potential risk should a large enough group choose to appear.

Luckily, there was no incident along the way to the apartment block where Jane lived. As per their usual custom, Jane invited Jake inside—no matter who you were, walking the streets alone at night was stupid.

"I can make some tea or hot chocolate or something," she offered, drawing him inside and bolting the door. "And there's a little leftover bread and cheese from the bakery, since you mentioned you hadn't had dinner yet!"

"Goodness, thank you," Jake smiled at her. "I am quite famished. There is enough for the both of us, though, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is plenty!" she cheerfully assured, entering the little kitchen and turning the lights on. "Here is the bread," she announced after retrieving the half-loaf from its container, then turned to the refrigerator and pulled out a quarter of a wedge of cheese and a knife, placing all the items on the countertop between them. "And the cheese. I'm going to make myself some hot chocolate, do you want any?" she asked as she turned to the stove to heat a pan of milk.

"Yes, please Jane," Jake said as he took the knife and cut four slices, two for each of them, and repeated the process for two slices of cheese, then placed the bread back in the box and walked around Jane to place the cheese back into the refrigerator.

A few minutes later saw them sitting at the small wooden table, blowing on steaming mugs of frothy hot chocolate and eating bread and cheese.

"How was your day?" Jake asked her after a heartbeat of quiet.

Jane shrugged, taking a small bite of bread. "Not that great, to be honest, but I mean it could have been a lot worse. I helped out at the little soup kitchen, you know?"

"Yep, I know the one!"

She sighed, slumping a little. "I don't know, it just depresses me to see those people always sad and hungry, worse off than even we are!"

Jake reached across the table to pat her hand. "I know, Jane, believe me, I know."

Jane offered him a small smile. They sat in a companionable silence for the rest of the meal, not really having that much to say and being quite exhausted. Finally Jane got the spare blankets out, and they had the usual you-take-the-bed-no-_you_-take-the-bed argument before deciding that Jake would take the couch and Jane the bed because last time she had managed to convince him to sleep in the bed. Both were asleep almost as soon as their heads touched the pillows.

* * *

_AN: Sorry, I just wanted to get this chapter out there! It could be much better, I know (I need to work on lots of things), but I'm more excited to start the actual plot than all this little fluff. Which don't worry, it'll be getting there soon! _


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness

The next morning dawned bright and early. As expected, Jake left shortly before dawn, leaving a thank-you note on her bedside table. Jane rose with the Sun and spent the morning at her usual job, kitchen manager and chef at a nearby (admittedly somewhat shabby) bakery, and left in the evening like normal, tired and hot and needing a nice bath. Luckily, her apartment was a nice one and had running and heated water, so that was easily taken care of. Just as she had finished heating a bowl of soup for dinner, there was a sharp rap on the door.

On the other side was Dirk, looking brisk and businesslike as usual with a book and several papers and folders, presumably from his university classes, under his arm. Opening the door quickly, she stepped aside to let him in, then closed and bolted the door after he entered. It was a bit of a surprise to see him here; neither he nor Roxy usually crossed district lines, and for that matter neither did she or Jake. They were just very noticeable. Surely there was an important reason for this visit, then.

"Hi, Dirk. Want some soup or anything? I was about to eat."

"No, I'm fine, thanks," he said, sitting on one side of the small sofa in her little living room. "I just came by to go over some stuff for the weekend. You ready?" Ah, that was the reason. It made sense, after all.

Jane let herself tiredly fall onto the sofa next to him, careful not to spill her steaming soup. Holding a spoonful to blow on, she considered. "I think so. I mean, I'll just corroborate your speech with personal experience and all, right?"

"Pretty much," he agreed, pulling a few pages from a folder. "Here—it's a copy of that speech, in case you wanted to look over it."

Jane took a glance at the papers. _For long years, we have lived under a regime of nothing but misery. Constantly watched and always afraid, we stay in our designated roles, doing everything just to please one person who unfairly sits at the top of the social order she herself installed! _And it went on like that for a while, detailing moments in the daily life of the middle or even low class, then looping back to a brief history lesson covering events like the Great Massacre or the long-ago Juggalo Wars. Finally the end was a call to action, to unite, to show that the people of this planet were not so afraid, so stuck in their own fear, that they lost all sense of identity as themselves and to show the Batterwitch that they wanted her gone.

It was their most audacious rally by far. Jane really hoped it would work.

"I think I can mostly help out here, and here," she indicated, sipping her soup. Dirk nodded.

"That's what I was thinking," he agreed. "Do you want to just deliver that part of the speech yourself?"

A flash of surprise crossed her face. "I—shucks! I could, I guess!"

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," he reassured, giving her the trademark Strider half-smile. "It might just be more compelling if that's your chance to shine rather than conveying it through me."

"Hmm... Okay, I'll do it," Jane nodded, then ate another spoonful of soup.

"Great! All we have to do is work out a few technical details, then!" The enthusiasm radiating from Dirk was palpable, evidenced by the way he leaned forward ever so slightly and the gleam in his eyes, and the determined set of his jaw. When he was passionate about something, it really showed—he just had some sort of magnetic charisma that drew people in to get them to follow him. It was why he was also the primary speech-giver at their rallies and sessions.

"Alright!" Jane laughed, swept along in his enthusiasm as always. "Honestly, I think I don't need to really write out my words... can I just say what comes to mind at the moment?"

"You _are _pretty good at speaking from the heart," Dirk conceded. "But stage fright is a killer. I'd suggest you just make an outline of points you want to cover."

"Right. Well, what points are those? I guess they would be the state of life here, right? And in the poorer sectors. Involving personal experience like what I see at work and after it." Jane trailed off, looking at him questioningly. Those were good talking points, right? They would show what the regime of the Batterwitch did to the people!

Dirk nodded encouragingly. "Good, keep going...?"

"Um... I can talk about ways to make it better, too, because you never present a problem without a solution." Wise words from her father, long ago, when there had been a chance of her opening her own business, before everything fell apart.

"Excellent. It's a good start. I know you're busy, but I think you can manage to have it ready by the rally. Speaking of that, I'd like to meet earlier that morning to finalize the speaking parts and order, if you can."

It would mean less rest for her, but that meant nothing in the face of the cause. "Of course! When and where?"

"When and where is convenient for you?" Dirk asked.

"Hm... what about two hours beforehand, somewhere in the neutral zone between the districts? The park, maybe?"

He nodded. "That should do. Alright, then."

"Do you think it will go well?" Jane asked after a heartbeat of silence, placing her now-empty soup bowl on the floor.

Dirk seemed to consider the question before answering. "I do. Which means we have to be very careful, because if she knows who we are, we're in for it."

"Things are only going to heat up from here, aren't they," she murmured.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Let's hope we're ready."

* * *

"Jake? Jake, please open up," Jane begged under her breath, knocking on the door again, more loudly this time. It was late and pouring heavy rain, so it was completely possible he was asleep or not able to hear her pounding away at the wood, but she didn't want to spend the night alone back in her flat. The wind buffeted her with cold water, making her shiver despite her already drenched clothes and hair.

"Jake, please..." she whispered, slumping against the doorframe and sliding to the wet concrete, shoulders shaking as she tried not to start crying again.

"Is someone there?" his voice called from inside suddenly, muffled by the wooden door.

Jane raised a trembling hand and tapped it again, not trusting her voice to remain steady. Footsteps approached from inside, and she was about to push herself to a standing position when the door was yanked open to reveal Jake, silhouetted by a warm yellow glow from the lamp behind him and wielding a pistol, just to be on the safe side. He immediately dropped it upon seeing her sitting there, instead pulling her inside without a word of question.

Once the door was closed the questions came, however, as Jake half led, half carried Jane to a wooden chair next to the small hearth in which a warm fire burned. "Dear lord, Jane, are you quite alright? Did something happen? –No, of course something did, otherwise you wouldn't be outside my apartment in the middle of a humongous old rainstorm like this. Did someone hurt you? Should I call—"

While speaking, Jake had crossed the room to pull out a woolen blanket and wrap it around her shoulders after peeling off her soaked cloak and jacket, but was then cut off when she flung herself into his arms and started crying in earnest rather than just letting out an occasional choked gasp or strangled sob. Jake blinked in surprise, stumbling back a step, but quickly hugged her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Jane... what's wrong?" he asked confusedly, concern written across his face. "Please tell me."

"I—I will, just give me a moment," she stammered between sobs, then buried her face in his shoulder, clinging to him so tightly it was as if she was trying to hide from the world by making herself small and pressing herself into her friend's arms.

After a few minutes of this, Jane seemed to have cried herself out for the time being, just leaning against Jake still with her head pressed to his shoulder and arms wrapped around his neck. Jake continued holding her, one hand still slowly and repetitively rubbing her back.

Without moving, Jane began to speak. "I... You know I sometimes go to the dark districts to give out food and things?"

Jake nodded, then quickly added, "Yes." He also knew that _and things _ meant using her healing powers to try and help those who were stuck in the dark districts with no means to help themselves. The concern was mounting—had someone there attacked her? Was she hurt?

"There was one family," she continued. "I—oh—if only I had just gotten there sooner, if I hadn't stopped to pick up fruit from the little market, but goodness knows those poor dears need money too, but—but—oh god, Jake, I was too late, that little girl died in my arms and I couldn't do _anything_ for her, I, I should have—" she began to cry again. Jake, finally understanding but quite shocked, just held her tighter, then after a moment scooped her up and sat them both on an armchair, Jane curled in his lap and still wrapped in the blanket.

"Oh dear... Jane," he murmured in shock, at a complete loss as to how to comfort her. Death may have been an unfortunate fact of life here in the lower quarters, but witnessing it firsthand was always devastating, especially to someone as softhearted as Jane was under all her cynicism. Jake was no stranger to terrible wounds, working in a factory as he did; people were hurt by heavy machinery all the time and sometimes even perished. It was the risk you had to take to make the money to survive.

But Jane? Jane worked in a bakery, cooking and decorating desserts. She was more delicate, fragile and gentle to see. He had confided to Dirk and Roxy that he really worried for her sometimes—she lived alone in the lower quarter, how long would it be until something happened? And now something had happened. Jake felt a little guilty for it, but he was desperately happy that the something hadn't happened to Jane herself.

Now, though, he was left to deal with a grieving, shocked girl trembling in his arms. And he had no idea what to tell her, no idea how to console her other than by just holding her and murmuring gentle words—_there, there, it'll be okay, please don't cry, hush now Jane._

"Jane, it wasn't your fault, I promise you!" he finally said after several minutes of merely sitting there.

Jane shook her head. "M—maybe if I had just—"

Almost immediately, Jake put a finger to her lips. "Bollocks! No maybes, what-ifs, could-haves or should-haves, because they don't matter because they didn't happen. It wasn't your fault, alright?"

She sniffled. "I..."

He might not be able to comfort her, but how dare she blame herself? He would not stand for that. "Alright?"

"Okay," she said meekly, dropping her gaze. Jake gave her a little squeeze.

"Is it my turn to make you hot chocolate then?" he asked with a small smile.

Jane considered. "... Yes, please," she said, too weary to bother teasing him about whether he could even make hot chocolate as good as hers like she usually might.

"Okay then, just hold on a tick!" he replied, shifting to stand and then popping off to the kitchen. Jane sniffled again, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself, and bit her lip to try and hold the tears in. A minute or two passed and he returned with two steaming cups, topped sloppily with cream.

Jane looked surprised, momentarily distracted from her tears by her pragmatic concerns. "Cream is so expensive though! Why are you...?"

"Oh, pish-tush, Jane!" Jake chided, placing both on the floor by the armchair, settling back down with her, and picking them up to give her one. "You are quite worth the cream."

She smiled genuinely for the first time that night.

"Thank you, Jake," she murmured, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

Jake smiled at her again. "Any time," he replied. "Shall we call it a night after the hot chocolate, or do you want to talk?"

Jane shrugged. "Tomorrow is the big day... I guess we should get rest—hey, aren't you going to work early tomorrow to get out in time?"

Jake nodded.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have woken you like this!" she started. Jake shook his head.

"Jane, really! You're much more important than an hour of sleep. You're worth whipped cream, after all! But if it makes you feel better, we can hit the sack soon."

"Yes, let's do that," she agreed, blushing sheepishly before taking a ginger sip of her hot chocolate.

"You can have the bed," he started.

Jane laughed softly, shaking her head. "I notice you don't have a long couch! Where will you sleep, the floor?"

"Well, yes, that was the general idea—"

"Well, I'm not going to waltz into your house and make you sleep on the floor," she contended, argumentative words at odds with the way she leaned into his warmth, seeming to take comfort in their bedtime argument ritual.

"Well, you're certainly not waltzing into my house only to sleep on the floor," he replied with mock indignance, just happy that she seemed closer to being herself again.

"It would appear then, that as usual we are at an impasse," she declared. "And since I'm the one who waltzed into the house, I get to decide where I sleep, and that's not the bed!"

"It's my house though, my word should trump!" Jake objected. "You get the bed."

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Not taking the bed!"

"Well then I suppose we're both sleeping on the floor!"

Jane opened her mouth to retort, then paused and blinked. "Jake... why don't we just share the bed?"

Jake stopped. "That... why _didn't _we think of that sooner?" Normally, he might have made some joking comment of _oh, my, how scandalous, Jane!_ But the thought of that was as far from his mind as it could be. This was completely friendship and comfort for Jane.

"That way," she added more quietly, "you can still hold me like this, right?"

"Of course," he agreed without hesitation, giving her another little squeeze in reassurance. "How early are you getting up, anyway?"

"Oh... The hour after dawn, I think. I'm sleeping in a little, if that's okay, but I have to meet Dirk in the morning."

"Ah. Well, I have to leave at half before dawn, so I'll probably get up the hour before. I'll be certain to leave you breakfast, if you like!"

"Oh, you don't have to, I can make it myself," she assured him.

"I see, you just don't like my cooking," Jake joked.

"No, it's not that, silly!" she said with a weak laugh. "I just don't want you to have to do extra work for my sake."

"Well, I _do _make breakfast anyway," he pointed out. "I'll just leave you some."

"Oh, okay. Well, while I'm taking advantage of you, can I borrow some drier clothes for the night?" Jane asked, looking at her formerly favorite blue sundress, now damp and still cold.

"Of course! Sorry, I didn't even think of that," Jake apologized. "They will be big, obviously, but..."

Jane giggled. "I just need something dry to sleep in, Jake," she said.

"Right, right." Jake stood, running a hand through his unruly hair and messing it even further, and then walked into the bedroom alcove. He emerged with a plain beige shirt and dark pants and handed them to Jane, who accepted them with a quiet "Thanks".

A few minutes later she had changed in the bedroom and placed her dress on the chair in front of the hearth where Jake had originally instructed her to sit and dry off. Jake's clothes were comically large on her; she had taken one look at her reflection in the small window and actually laughed before tugging the shirt sleeves back enough that her hands could emerge to hold her hot chocolate.

"It's much easier to enjoy hot chocolate when you're warm and dry," she commented, resting her head against Jake's shoulder as she sat half in his lap on the armchair.

"I would think so, yes," he agreed, looping an arm around her loosely.

The rain was still falling hard against the windowpane and filled the lull in their conversation with a cool backdrop of sound. Finally Jane straightened. "We should go to sleep," she said. "Especially you. What time is it, anyway?"

"Three hours until dawn, I believe," Jake replied, stifling a yawn. "Let's do that, I'm quite knackered."

"Sorry," she murmured sheepishly, looking at her empty mug. "I just didn't know where else to go—"

"Jane, goodness, how many times do I have to tell you I am quite glad you came to me?"

She smiled wanly. "Right, sorry."

"You don't need to apologise for that either!"

At that she gave a genuine chuckle. "_Sorry._"

"You are incorrigible," Jake told her.

Jane smiled sweetly. "I know."

* * *

_AN: Well, there you have it, Jane's secret is out! Eh, sorry about both the wait and the crappiness of this chapter. I just had the best five days of my life at a competition, but it was super busy! Okay, let me know what you think? :)_


	4. Chapter 4: Dreams

The next day was deceptively beautiful, the blue sky dotted with a few fluffy white clouds, while the soft breeze carried traces of birdsong in the park. Jane wore the same simple blue cotton sundress, slightly wrinkled from being draped over a chair in front of Jake's hearth overnight, complete with the old hat and purse at her hip. She sat in a gazebo amid a few trees, hands clasped in her lap and ankles crossed, waiting for Dirk. A few nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach, but she suppressed them—this was a big day for them! She should be excited, not worried. And she definitely would suppress thoughts of yesterday.

Soon enough, exactly on the hour, he appeared, sporting wind-tossed hair and casual yet impeccable clothes as usual. In one of his hands was the folder containing their notes for the rally.

"Good morning, Dirk," Jane greeted with a soft smile.

"'Morning," he replied, seating himself next to her and opening the folder. "It's good to see you indeed did show up. How are you?"

"A little nervous, frankly," she admitted, frowning at the cryptic first statement but then disregarding it. "But also excited!"

"Understandable," he nodded. "Honestly, I am too, but there's nothing to worry about. I've got it all under control."

"I know, I know," Jane laughed. "I trust you."

Dirk smiled. "Good to know. Now, let's get this show on the road, hm?"

"Mmhmm! Okay, here's what I have prepared, more or less..." Jane took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them to meet Dirk's gaze unwaveringly, almost as if she were looking through him rather than at him in concentration, before launching into her speech, quashing whatever feelings of nervousness fluttered through her and launching into her admittedly slightly awkward introduction. "Hello, my fellow citizens! I am one of you, from the so-called 'lower' or 'lesser' district. I have walked all my life in the same shoes as many of you, and today I come to share what this life has shown me about the way our world works.

"When I was young, I never understood why I couldn't have the nice things that people on the other side of the city did. I never understood what made them all intrinsically 'better', worth more than us. And you know what? I still don't! Well, I understand the reason we're separated, and that is only because our glorious empress has decided that we are. You and I, and my companion here, and even those who chose not to attend this event—we are all one and the same, we are all one people. The same blood runs through all of our veins! And yet we are divided by someone not even from our planet. Why do we let this happen?"

She stopped, taking a moment to organize her thoughts, then continued. "In the past, our planet was a haven of justice and happiness. We lived in peace. That all changed when the Empire came through. But somewhere, under it all, we still have that same potential, that same love of each other, I know we do! Even though for those of us who live in the lower districts, who slave and toil endlessly just to bring enough home to keep ourselves and our families fed, who cannot ever find happiness if what makes them happy lies outside of their caste, who live in fear of all the rest of the world, life is hard, yes, but it should only serve as a reminder of what we could have had.

"And I do not mean this in bitterness or regret! I speak of hope. Because in my heart," her fingers fluttered to brush her heart, then flitted across to lightly tap Dirk's chest, "and in yours, lives a spark of hope. It's always been there, and always will be, no matter what, because no one—and I mean no one!—can ever take that away from us. We are one, we are united, and we will be free to be ourselves. I promise! If we can all just work together, if we can find that common blood, we can take back our home.

"But those of you of other castes might be wondering why it benefits you to help us, the downtrodden and weary. You do have lofty, easier lives here... and as I said, I am not part of those. But I could have been. And you could have been me. I implore you to realize, our world is unfairly stacked, so that a few may reside in luxury while hundreds starve." She faltered, not sure where to go with this. But then... a daring idea struck her on impulse. Could she perhaps do exactly what Dirk had suggested and bring in some of her own personal experiences?

"Yesterday, I—" Here, it became clear that this speech was indeed from the heart, and also was being spoken on the spot. Jane's breath hitched, and she dropped her gaze to blink back sudden tears for a moment. Gosh darn it, she had been doing well!

Dirk straightened in surprise and made as if to say something, concern knitting his brows together, but Jane waved him off and straightened. "I... sorry. Yesterday, a child died in my arms because her family was unable to feed her or afford medicine for her illness. We found them too late. They were frightened of retribution—they were frightened to seek the means to help an innocent child live. Is this really the kind of world you want to live in?

"Because I'm not saying the world I want makes everyone miserable. I want a world in which everyone has equal opportunity, in which people are safe and don't have to fear for their lives over every little thing, in which people can follow their dreams! This is the world I need you to help me build."

She stopped speaking, then bit her lip. "So... was that any good?" It definitely could use work, because professional speakers didn't just break down on stage, really... Maybe she should have just stayed in a supplementary role at this enormous event. Maybe—

"It was excellent!" Dirk interrupted her train of thought with a genuine smile. Then it faded, replaced by the same concern from a few minutes prior. "But... are you okay, Jane? You didn't tell me about that, yesterday..."

"I—" Were there even words to describe that situation? Jane didn't think so, but the world was blurring and gosh darnit, was she really about to start crying over it again, right now and right here? She would have thought that she didn't have any tears left by this point!

After a second of looking somewhere between frantic and unsure, Dirk pulled her into a warm embrace. "Hey, Jane, it's okay—no, it's not okay, but it happened, and I'm sorry it did, but we're here for you, okay?"

She stayed like that for a moment, just clinging to him and trying to hold in the tears, then with a shaky breath pulled away, offering a watery smile. "I'm okay, yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she said, blinking to clear any of those remaining tears. "I'm okay."

"What... what happened?" Dirk seemed almost hesitant to ask, a remarkably rare thing for him. Usually he was the dictionary definition of confidence.

"I was in the dark districts," she began, completely forgetting that Dirk and Roxy knew little of her exploits. Jake knew and didn't quite approve, but he knew he couldn't change her mind about it and just extracted promises to be careful, especially when he couldn't accompany her.

Dirk sucked in his breath sharply. "What were you doing there?"

"I ... shucks, I totally forgot I never even mentioned this to you or Roxy," she laughed with embarrassment, feeling her cheeks turning pink. "I go down there sometimes, on my off days. Just to walk around and help out wherever I can, you know?"

He was frowning. "And by 'help out' you mean...?"

"I, well, I buy things from the people there if I can afford it because I know they need money more than I do, and I give them food when I can, and sometimes..." she trailed off, twisting her already wrinkled skirt in her hands.

"Sometimes?" he prodded, the furrow between his brows growing.

"I help the wounded and sick." Jane's voice was barely above a whisper and she wouldn't meet Dirk's gaze.

"Jane," he said quietly. "I know it's important to you, but... don't you realize how dangerous that is? You using your powers so openly?"

"What am I supposed to do?" she shot back, crossing her arms defensively. "Let them die?"

"If they have to to keep you from being taken, yeah," he replied, just as cool as she had been heated.

"How—no! I won't do that."

He sighed. "I can't tell you what to do. I'm only trying to look out for you. Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry," Jane said wryly. "Jake already made me promise him that about fifty times."

Dirk rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Don't do anything stupid, Crocker," he half-jokingly warned. "But sorry, I interrupted you, didn't I... continue?"

"Well," she said after a momentary pause, "there's not that much more to say. I... I was doing that, and I happened upon these people, this family sitting in an alley under a makeshift canopy of old papers and boards. There was a little girl who had been very sick for a while, and they couldn't even afford food to feed her either, and I came too late, I guess, because even though I tried she was just a little too far gone, and..." she swallowed hard, biting her lip. "I ... I couldn't save her, Dirk. It was awful, I couldn't stay there..."

"So, is this whole thing why I couldn't find you when I went to your place yesterday to see if you were aware of all the plans for today that I discussed with Roxy and Jake about their roles?" His voice contained a measure of casual sharpness, and he was watching her closely.

Jane straightened in surprise. "You did? When? I'm sorry, I guess I was out. It happened around mid-afternoon, which was when I ran away from—from her," she said.

"I came by in the late evening," Dirk frowned. "Were you still in the dark districts wandering around?"

"Oh... I—I guess so, I did wander for a while, I just had to get away from it all. I mean, I didn't go home last night—"

"What?!" Well, that was an accomplishment, the part of Jane's mind that enjoyed dry humor noted. She'd gotten Strider to exclaim in surprise or possibly horror. But immediately she felt bad because he was undoubtedly worried, and over nothing, too!

"Relax, Dirk!" she said quickly. "I didn't spend the night on the streets or anything. I went to Jake's flat."

"Oh," he said, apparent relief tinting his voice. "That's good to hear, at least."

"I feel a bit bad about that, honestly, he had to go to work early this morning because of our plans for the afternoon and I woke him up in the middle of the night."

"It's better than you staying on the streets."

"That's what Jake said, too," she laughed ruefully. "But what was it you needed to talk to me about yesterday?"

"Just finalizing some plans and things. I figured even if we were meeting up you may as well know beforehand because we were going to devote this hour to speechmaking."

"Oops."

"Nah, doesn't matter, your speech was good." Dirk shrugged.

"You think so?" Jane perked up. Dirk didn't usually had out praise lightly, especially if it wasn't true.

"Yeah." He gave her a small smile again, just a quick quirk of his lips, but it was completely genuine.

Jane smiled brightly in response, pushing her darker emotions away with effort. "Oh, goody then!"

"Are you ready?" Dirk asked, watching her carefully. The underlying question was, _are you sure you're okay?_

"Yeah. Let's do this." It had only hardened her resolve. For that poor little girl, a bright candle snuffed out before even having a chance to shine, she would change the world.

* * *

"I didn't expect the crowd to be this... big," Jane whispered to Dirk in awe as they stood in the wings, hidden from the stage. In front of them both sprawled a massive horde of people, several hundreds at least. A dull roar, wall of sound, permeated the air; almost instinctively Jane stepped backwards, behind her companion. Avoiding attention was better than not, in most cases, yet here she was going to stand out on stage!

Dirk shifted, turning to lightly catch her by the elbow. "It is impressive turnout, definitely." He studied her for a moment, his body language telling her he was concerned. "Are you—"

"Yes, I'm sure, Dirk," Jane assured him quickly. She was nervous, but this was what she was here to do! Plus it wasn't like she would be out there alone. "I'll be okay." She flashed him a smile, patting his shoulder. "Besides, it's a little late to back out, don't you think?"

That elicited a small grin. "Just a little. Don't worry about it, though. I have this entire situation under control."

Before Jane could reply, a small green cube sailed through the air and smacked Dirk's arm. He whipped around, one hand automatically grasping the hilt of the sword strapped to his hip as the other shoved a startled Jane behind him, but relaxed his defensive posture when he saw Roxy waving from a few yards away. She was at the edge of the stage wings, on the other side of the little barricade they had put up as makeshift protection if things went badly, to buy time to escape.

"It's time!" she called in a low voice, just loud enough to be heard over the crowd's muddle of voices. "Good luck, you too! Get out there!"

Dirk nodded, stiffening and taking a quick breath. Jane now studied him; no matter how many times they joked about him being a robot, Dirk was human too. She had only realized recently how much he stretched himself thin keeping them safe and happy—Lil Seb, the cute bunny-shaped robot he had built to keep her apartment safe, especially when he wasn't home—had been what he called easy, but was quite the undertaking if Roxy's story about him actually falling asleep during class one time was true.

He cared deeply about all of them; he just didn't always show it on the surface, but his actions spoke much louder than his occasionally harsh words. He did things that sometimes were downright outrageous, but never put them in danger—half the time those outrageous things were things they probably should have done themselves, and the other half of the time they were still for the benefit of the unfortunate recipient of Dirk's lessons. Roxy had said once that she speculated it was because deep, deep down, he was afraid that something might happen to one of them and wanted to make sure they were as ready and capable as they could be if he wasn't there to protect them.

All these thoughts ran through Jane's head as she examined him. There was a trace of nervousness visible in the tightness of his jaw or the stiff set of his shoulders, but if one didn't know him well, they could easily have been forgiven for overlooking those. Now, it was her turn to place a comforting hand on his arm.

"I'm not worried. I know you've got this under control. Ready to rock?"

He looked startled for a second, then palpably relieved. "Yeah. Come on, Crocker." One deft hand flipped his hood up, and then he slid on a pair of pointed shades. It was an interesting look, but it did fit him, Jane thought. She just wore a mask borrowed from Roxy—they had taken one look at the silly toy disguises her father had bought her when she was young, before the early end of her childhood, and said no, Jane, those wouldn't work—and pulled her own hood up, glasses secured in her pocket.

Behind them, Roxy gave a thumbs-up and blew them a kiss before vanishing, presumably to find Jake again. Jane slipped her hand into Dirk's, feeling adrenaline coursing through her body even as a nest of butterflies frantically fluttered through her stomach. He lightly squeezed her fingers, as if he knew exactly what she was feeling.

With a final deep breath, both of them took a step beyond the wings onto the stage, and turned to face the eager crowd.

* * *

_AN: Shoutout to YuukiSynical for being the first reviewer! This chapter's dedicated to you, dear! _

_Again, what do you think? Also, I'm not sure which ships to include... hmm. Or even whether to include any! Romance will not be the main objective of this story but there is a potential for it happening. Thoughts?_


	5. Chapter 5: The Big Rally

Roxy Lalonde was watching the proceedings smugly, her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk playing about her lips. Everything was going according to the plans Dirk had drawn up; the only problem at all was when people in the back of the immense crowd couldn't hear the rallying speech.

But...

A slight frown settled on her brow, and her posture shifted to a more defensive one. It was going _too _well. Something should have gone wrong by now, there were too many people and there was no way this was still under the radar. Holding it in a market square in the Lower Quarter was a good way to get people to be able to come, but had a strategic drawback; there were too many twisting passages and ways to enter. Those did double as exit points, but it was not the easiest place to defend.

Her eyes darted back to the stage, away from the sea of heads and the buildings surrounding them. Dirk was stepping back and bringing forward Jane, little Jane who was probably trembling in her shoes, but opened her mouth and let her voice ring out clear and strong, if a little higher than usual.

A burst of pride emanated in her heart then. Jane was her dear friend and something of a worry to her, in the best of ways; Roxy had quickly taken the girl under her wing. Out of them all, she had known Jane almost the longest, meeting her about six months after Jake had, and she definitely knew that Jane was just as good for her as she was good for Jane. It had been difficult to admit, but she had had an alcohol problem, which had gone unacknowledged and ignored until Jane gently helped her out of it. She still drank, but in a much more controlled fashion.

And she had helped Jane come out of her shell enough to apply for a better employment situation than the dingy café she had worked at; now at least Jane worked at a bakery that let her leave at a reasonable hour, and at least she could do something she loved. Under her timid, gentle exterior Jane had a ridiculous sense of humor and while she was a cynic, she also had an innately hopeful quality that Roxy really saw shining now on that stage. In her own way, different from Dirk's powerful charisma and strong enthusiasm, she enthralled the crowd. Roxy felt her heart soar for her friend.

Surely her worries were unfounded, right?

Nonetheless, she dodged and slipped and wove her way through the crowd to lightly nudge Jake's arm. He jumped, surprised, and stopped surveying the buildings to look at her questioningly. "Say, Roxy, aren't you supposed to be at the other corner?"

"Do you think there's something suspicious about all this?" Roxy asked in a low voice, barely audible over the sudden cheers for something Jane had said.

"Suspicious?" Jake asked, taken aback. "No, not at all! It seems to be going along spankingly!"

"That's what worries me," she replied with the frown from minutes ago creasing her brows again. "You'd think _her _ troops would've noticed us by now, yeah?"

"Maybe the revolution's already working, then! She knows she can't win, not against all of us!" Jake beamed.

"Jake..." _Are you for real?_ She wanted to groan. "I guess you've never seen the military doing its exercises in the morning, have you?"

As expected, he shook his head, even though she didn't pause to wait for him to.

"Because... It's super huge! Like, really, really really big!" she accompanied these terrible words with an emphatic hand gesture. "She could easily..." A quick survey of the assembled masses of people confirmed her intuitive guess; the feeling of something being _wrong _grew more intense. "She could easily crush us like insects on the pavement."

Jake looked dismayed. "But... but she isn't. She hasn't!"

"_Yet_," Roxy amended, wagging her finger at him. "I feel like something's going to happen. Keep an eye on my corner, will you? I'm going to get closer to the stage so I can get their attention more easily if it does, or at least see if anyone's up there being all... suspicion-inducing."

"Of course. Do you really think it'll end badly?" Jake asked, concern appearing on his earnest face. "All these people..."

Here was a conversation she had been hoping to avoid. "Jake, dearie. We're trying to basically start a war here. People are going to die." Maybe... maybe dropping a bombshell would just be easier than easing him into the idea that there would be deaths squarely on their shoulders.

...

Oh shit, no, that was not a good idea, judging by the sudden pasty appearance of his face.

"But... oh goodness... maybe we shouldn't—"

"It's a little late to back out now!" she said airily, waving her hands as if to dispel the mental image he probably had conjured. "Plus people are dying anyway, at least they can die for a good cause."

"But—do you really think there might be people dying _today_?" To his credit, he didn't stumble over the word _dying_. Oh wait... that was because he worked in the factories. Never mind.

Roxy hesitated. "I don't know," she hedged. "I hope not." That wasn't a lie, but technically she hadn't answered his question—because the answer was yes, she did think there was a definite possibility.

"Me too."

They lapsed into a short, uneasy silence, both having fallen out of the excited fervor suffusing the throng and instead casting wary glances all around.

Suddenly Roxy grasped Jake's arm, jerking her head at one of the side streets with a sense of urgency. "Jake! There! Do you see him or is that just me—"

"_Shit!_"

Yeah, Jake saw him too. Him being one of the soldiers of the Condense!

"I'll go get them. Meet back at the place!" she called, fear underlying her voice. She couldn't let anything happen to Dirk or Jane!

Not bothering to subtly glide through the crowd anymore, Roxy shoved and elbowed her way towards the stage.

"Mask! Shades!" she screamed as she neared, hoping they could hear her over the mob. It didn't work; Dirk was shouting passionately and Jane was watching him with a bright smile, caught up in her own enthusiasm.

A few seconds later there was another little green cube in her hand. A pebble would have been less indicative of a conjurer, but dammit she couldn't concentrate in this ruckus!

It bounced harmlessly off the edge of the stage. She cursed under her breath and with a few more "Ex_cuse_ me"s accompanied by sharp elbows, found herself closer to them.

"Shades! Mask!"

Plonk went another cube, near Jane's feet this time. Once more should do it...

It smacked Jane's hand. Startled, she snatched her hand to her chest, looking at the crowd. Roxy waved with huge gestures, jumping to try to get attention.

"_Mask! Shades!_" she yelled again, fighting to be heard. "Game's up, let's go!"

Jane's eyes widened. Roxy pointed wordlessly back in Jake's direction. "Troops coming!"

"Di—_hey!_" Jane caught herself barely in time. "We have to go!"

Dirk glanced to Roxy, tearing his gaze from the people in front of him. "We'll meet again here! Next week, same time! Tell your friends, and get out now!" he cried, then grabbed Jane's hand and with her ran back behind the curtain. In the starting-to-panic crowd, Roxy swore and fought her way against the tide of people to find them.

Behind the curtain, both had climbed over the barricade and were rapidly removing their disguises and stowing them in nondescript bags, slung over each of their shoulders.

"Act normal," Dirk instructed briskly as he rolled his cloak and shoved it into his shoulderbag.

"Everyone's panicking," Jane replied wryly before giving in to nervousness again. "Are we going back to headquarters?"

"Yeah, we should. But not for long, we need to pretend we were either in the crowd or not here at all." He held out his hand again, waiting for her to take it. She grasped it firmly, knowing that it would be hard to stay together in a stampede like what they would find outside.

Dirk peeked out from behind the curtain, then nodded back at her. "We should be clear to go. It's a good thing she warned us before we had to use that barricade... Okay, let's go."

Together they slipped into the fray. Near the outer edges of the crowd, where Roxy and Jake had been quietly patrolling, troops were visible. Not that many of them were there—it was more of a display of a small force than an actual crackdown—but it was effective; people were screaming, and there was a stench of dread and fear hanging in the air.

Chaos surrounded them both as they tried to jostle through the crowd—or rather, Dirk shoved his way through and Jane tried to keep close.

"Do you see Roxy?" she cried to him at one point, gripping his hand so tightly with her sweaty hand she wasn't sure it was physically possible to let go without having to pry her fingers off with a crowbar.

"No!" he called back, sounding frustrated. "Wait, is that Jake—"

He lunged forward, but Jane stumbled over someone's feet, and just like that as soon as someone else fell heavily against their outstretched arms her fingers slipped, and she lost him. "Hey—" she gasped, trying to regain her sense of direction. "Dirk?"

She was surrounded by strangers, all pushing and shoving this way and that, and her ears were full of cries of fear and panic. Nowhere could she spot Dirk's fair head between the unknown faces. Frantically, Jane turned this way and that, clasping her own hands at her chest unconsciously as if it was some kind of defensive gesture. "Dirk!" she called, craning her neck this way and that.

It was then that Jane realized she had made a crucial mistake for one in a crowd like this: she was standing still. Cursing her diminutive stature, she tried to look around for which direction to start off in! But which way did Dirk go—

She had no time to ponder this, desperately stretching onto the tips of her toes, when a small group of people, clasping each other for dear life, barreled past her to reach a side street behind a nearby group of stalls. They all but mowed her down and she was flailing her arms to try not to lose her balance and fall, but the next thing she knew, her knees were on the pavement and so was her head and there were feet and heavy shoes and she couldn't get up without falling again, so she covered her head and screamed, "_Dirk!_"

Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. She nearly fell again because the owner of the hand continued moving with the flow of the people around her, but they didn't let her fall.

"Roxy?"

"Sheesh, Janey," Roxy shook her head, glancing at Jane for a fleeting moment with a twinkle in her eyes but a measure of seriousness and concentration on her face as well before craning her neck to peer over the heads of those nearby. "Haven't I told you not to let people walk all over you?"

Of all the things to do or say while trying to escape a political rally gone wrong, making puns about nearly being crushed to death by a horde of people was not one Jane would have put at the top of the list. It was so ridiculous that she found herself laughing. Roxy smiled at that, pulling her close enough to wrap an arm around her waist before weaving through the crowd, at all times keeping a tight grasp on Jane, who hurriedly scrambled to keep up with Roxy's longer strides and quick movements.

"I'm going to _smack _Strider, really," she muttered, half to herself. "Dropping Janey is sacrilegious!"

"What?" asked Jane, unable to hear anything other than her name.

"Nothing. Tell you later!" she called back, breathing a sigh of relief. She could see the edge of the throng!

A few moments later they had reached that edge. Breathing sighs of relief—now that they were out of the tightly packed crowd enough to do so-they ducked into a different side street; Jane led Roxy through several back alleyways, each more deserted and frankly creepy than the last, until they reached a small, decrepit, and empty park.

"Are you okay, Janey?" There was concern in Roxy's eyes, and her hands clasped Jane's earnestly.

"A few bruises, probably," Jane admitted with a shrug, blinking. "Nothing big, I'll be fine."

"I'm going to smack Strider," Roxy repeated more audibly. "Just so you know."

"What? Why?" Jane blinked in surprise.

"Because he dropped you. I told him to keep an eye on you! Not like, a literal eye, because that would totally be weird, but to just watch out for you." Roxy was grinning, which told Jane she was joking, but she really was only joking about the smacking Dirk part. She really had asked him to watch out for Jane.

Not that Jane needed to know that or anything.

Now she was laughing, and Roxy smiled happily. "So, how was giving a speech with Dirk?"

"Terrifying!" Jane laughed, almost giddy now that the whole ordeal was over. "I bet I'll do it next time, too!"

"Terrifying," Roxy repeated. "And you're already looking forward to next time. Janey I don't think you know what terrifying means."

"I do, I do! It was terrifying, but... exhilarating, too, you know what I mean?"

"Sort of, sure," Roxy shrugged.

Jane smiled up at her, then began digging in her bag. After a second, she frowned. "Oh, shucks. My glasses are... they must have been stepped on! They fell out of my bag, I guess."

"Don't worry, Janey! I promise I won't let you walk into any poles," Roxy vowed with a cheerful salute and wink.

Jane gave her a skeptical look. "Thank you, Roxy, I definitely can't tell where any poles are. Wait, are you even Roxy? Or is this Jake in disguise?"

"That's right, you figured me out," Roxy deadpanned in reply. "It is I, the ridiculously handsome and totally dorky Jake English, here to save the day!" She struck a dramatic pose. Jane burst into laughter.

"Do you think we should head back?" she asked after a few seconds of silence had passed.

"Probably," Roxy agreed, for the first time looking around. "By the way, where are we?"

"Just a little old park," Jane answered softly. She looked around, a wistful, nostalgic expression crossing her face. "I used to come here with my dad."

Without a word, Roxy immediately wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close for a side-hug-snuggle-embrace-type-thing. Jane sighed, leaning into her for a moment, then straightened. "Let's go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Hand in hand, they set off down the streets.

* * *

_AN: And there we have it, the first rally! First of many to come. Hats off to LordPeanut, the 2nd reviewer for this story! I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far! And yes, the alpha babies need more fics, especially Jane in my mind. There's not a lot of her in this archive, so I set out to fix that! There will be betas eventually, but the focus for now is not on them. :)_

_As for things that can so easily go wrong, well... heh heh heh. _


	6. Chapter 6: Promise

Jake and Dirk both were already there, anxiously awaiting their arrival. Jake immediately pounced upon them for a tight hug.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" he exclaimed. "We were so worried!"

Jane laughed as he pulled away, quickly giving him a squeeze before he completely withdrew. "I was worried about you, too. I'm glad you're okay!"

Roxy, meanwhile, marched to the sofa where Dirk was. He smiled up at her.

"Hey, Lalonde. Nice to see you made it out in one piece—what are you doing?"

Roxy had grabbed an overstuffed pillow and was now holding it over her head. Without any warning she brought it down and smacked Dirk with it, complete with a satisfying _fwump_.

"Oof! What the hell, Roxy?"

"That was for dropping Janey," she explained, and almost immediately felt bad because of the look of guilt and panic that flashed in his eyes, then tossed the pillow to the ground and latched onto him for a hug. "And this is for not being dead! Nice to see you too."

"I didn't drop Jane! I lost her in the crowd, though. Is that what you mean?" Dirk was attempting to look as nobly affronted as was possible when one had their hair completely mussed and was being squished by his friend.

"Well, when I found her she was on the ground trying not to get trampled."

Dirk looked alarmed. "She fell? I heard her call my name but I couldn't see her... I figured she was just looking for me. But I couldn't find her, so I guessed she would just meet me back here."

"She fell," Roxy affirmed. "I'm just glad I saw her, because..." she trailed off, suppressing a shudder at both the thought of losing Jane, and of dying by being trampled by a panicked crowd. Dirk sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"You _know _I've been telling her not to let people walk all over her." Roxy attempted to lighten their mood by trotting out her brilliant pun again, to a different audience, and grinned proudly. It _was _a very good pun.

Dirk didn't laugh. Instead, he frowned. "Is she okay?" he asked carefully, looking over at Jane, who was laughing about something or other with Jake. As if sensing his gaze, both of them looked over to him and Roxy.

"She said she has a few bru—" Roxy started, not realizing that the two others had swiveled to tune into their little discussion, dropping the "But Jane! We are supposed to be spectacles buddies, whatever happened to yours?!" from a few moments past.

Jane immediately realized what the conversation was about. "I'm fine, Dirk!" she said over Roxy. "Nothing wrong with me! You know, I didn't think Rox would actually smack you, even with a pillow..."

"You should know, Janey! I always follow through with my threats."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Jane laughed. There was still a sense of giddy victory coursing through her, flight from the scene notwithstanding.

"We should split up soon," Dirk said. "The only real reason we're meeting up right now is to make sure everyone's okay and to drop off gear. Anything else we need to do?"

"No, I don't believe so," Jake shrugged, shifting on his feet. He seemed unsure whether to bother to sit down, but finally made up his mind and plopped onto the couch across from Dirk and Roxy. Jane sat on his other side, where she made a sound of disapproval.

"Jake! You didn't mention you got hurt!" she tutted.

"It's nothing!" he protested, looking at his arm. A red mark indeed was there, though it had stopped bleeding, from shoving a young woman out of the way of one of the guards' javelins. It had only grazed him, really!

Jane was, however, having none of it. "Now you hold still, mister," she instructed. A second later, a gentle, blue, misty glow surrounded her hands as she closed her eyes in concentration. Opening them again, she lightly skimmed her fingers over the wound; as she did, it began to close under her cool touch. Jake watched with something akin to awe—it wasn't the first time she had performed her little healing spells on him, but every time he was still transfixed. Really he did not at all understand how she could ever think her magic was useless or not powerful in its own way.

She pulled away after a scant few seconds, letting out a breath and allowing the magic to subside. The glow drained away, dissipating into the air around her, and she looked up to find all three of her friends watching her with varying degrees of fond smiles on their faces.

"Thanks a ton, Jane!" Jake beamed, giving her a side-hug with his newly-healed arm.

Jane laughed. "No problem, you silly boy! Now, neither of you is hurt, right?" she narrowed her eyes at Dirk and Roxy, though the effect was somewhat ruined by her squinting from the lack of glasses.

"Nope! I'm perfectly fine, Jane!" Roxy shot a wide grin across the coffee table directly at Jane, who laughed.

"Me too," Dirk assured smoothly. "Oh... uh, sorry for losing you earlier."

"Roxy!" Jane scolded. "No need to make him feel guilty. Really, Dirk, it's fine. Nothing happened, we're all here in one piece!"

"That's the spirit!" Jake chimed in. "So what are we doing for next week?"

"Pretty much the same, unless you wanted to swap out or something?" Dirk shrugged. "Jane and I can work something out for the speeches, but I don't think you guys have to worry about anything considering you'll not be on stage."

"Do we have to change up the speech a lot?" Jane asked, frowning slightly. "In only a week?"

"No, no, not a lot. We can talk about that tomorrow, if you have time? Or whenever. We're all tired right now, though, so I think it's a good time to leave, before any neighbors or whoever the hell looks at our houses notices we're not home."

"Right, good plan." Jake stood and offered a hand to Jane, who hauled herself to her feet. Dirk and Roxy both rose, the former first having to somewhat disentangle himself from the latter.

"Well, good job, everyone!" Roxy cheered. "We got a ridiculous amount of people to show up and we all made it out when things went pear-shaped! I count this day a success!"

Jane gave her a high five. "Go us, we're pretty awesome, aren't we?"

"Hell yeah we are," Dirk grinned.

"We are simply the best there is!" Jake proclaimed, beaming. He happily wrapped an arm around Jane and Roxy, who pulled Dirk into this imprompto group hug.

When the quartet separated, all smiling and flushed with excitement despite their fatigue, they just stood quietly for a second, drinking in the presence of the others. Jane intertwined her fingers with Jake's and Dirk's, who stood on either side of her, and beamed.

They stood in silence for a few heartbeats longer, then finally all pulled apart with a hint of reluctance.

"So... see you guys later, I guess," Jane looked over to the two Upper Quarter residents.

"Yeah, sometime soon! We'll be in touch, and don't stress yourself about those speeches or anything. You did good, by the way," Dirk replied.

Roxy darted over to give Jane a quick hug. "Stay safe, Janey—hey," she paused. "Now that the rally's over, what was the mysterious something you didn't tell me earlier?"

Jane felt her stomach drop. She had completely forgotten about that, and now the grief was starting to return as well as now anxiety about telling Roxy. "Um... sometimes I go to the dark districts and heal people?"

"_What?_" Roxy squawked.

"She won't be going there for some time," Dirk said pointedly. "Right, Jane?"

"Dirk," Jane frowned, crossing her arms. "I told you, if I can help them—"

"Well, considering how well that went last time, I really think you should give it a rest for some time!"

"_What _happened last time?" Roxy cried in consternation.

Jake looked helplessly back and forth at the three of them, looking like they were about to descend into squabbling. "Guys, is there really not a better time for this?"

"What happened last time?" Roxy demanded again, hands on her hips.

Meanwhile Dirk and Jane were arguing.

"Yeah, that only happened because I didn't get there early enough! It wouldn't have happened if I'd been sooner!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it is liable to happen again and you'll be wandering the streets all night again—"

"I was not wandering the streets all night!"

"Okay, until a ridiculously late hour of the night, and who knows what could have happened to you—"

"Well that's why I make sure nothing does happen while I'm there! I'm a healer, at least there's some way I can make myself useful—"

"Jane, I don't see why you take the fact that you could have easily gotten killed out there so lightly—"

"If I got killed, at least I would have been helping people! I'm just a healer after all, I can be a good one who actually makes a difference to someone's life rather than just being an anonymous entity who doesn't do a thing—"

"_What the hell happened last time!?_" Roxy was nearly yelling now to be heard over the other two.

"She became upset because a child died in her arms of a combination of fever, dehydration, starvation, and bad care overall," Jake sighed. It didn't appear that either Dirk or Jane was listening to Roxy, and she did deserve answers. "And she was unable to calm down until around three hours to dawn, when she came to my flat."

"Holy fucking shit," Roxy stared from Jake back to Jane, who was currently looking furious enough that Roxy wouldn't have been surprised if she too decided to smack Dirk with a pillow.

"Dirk Strider, I am astonished that you would even suggest that!" she was saying. "I would have thought better of you, who stood on a platform for an hour today preaching about _helping the people_."

"Look, Jane, my priorities are the people I care about, and then everybody else. You know something? You're _not _just a healer, not anymore. You can't afford to get yourself hurt or killed because you're one of the faces of this movement!"

That stopped her cold, hands falling to her sides again and the furious flush coloring her cheeks fading. "I—"

"You're also not just a healer because you were never just a healer, Janey," Roxy interrupted softly, from where she and Jake had been quietly watching the argument escalate. It was a lot to take in, and she was internally marveling at the bravery of the other girl but felt fear in her heart. The dark districts were dangerous, and the idea of something happening to Jane was... unthinkable. "You're a ridiculously good prankster, an amazing chef with a supreme talent for confections, an adorable dork, and my best friend. Do you never think what could happen to you?"

"I..." Jane looked torn. Her voice was small now, and unsure, quite the opposite of a few moments ago, and her fingers now anxiously were fretting with the fabric of her dress. Worst of all, she sounded like any moment she might begin to cry.

"Janey..." Roxy felt her heart go out to the girl in front of her. She followed it and pulled her into a hug. Dirk was still watching her, a frown on his face, though it was softening and turning more and more uncertain. "Please. It's dangerous, and none of us want anything to happen to you. Please don't go."

"I want to go," came the muffled reply, in the same small, near to tears voice. "I want to help people."

"You _are _helping people!" Roxy argued. "Like you did today."

"I can help them even more," she continued to resist.

"You're going to keep sneaking out no matter what we say, aren't you," Dirk sighed. "I can't stop you, but I really, really don't like it, Jane."

Jake cleared his throat, finally stepping in. "What if... perhaps if at least Jane would come get me to accompany her on her little ventures? She would be less likely to be hurt that way."

"There's still something you're forgetting," Dirk shook his head. "We're starting a revolution. Things are going to get worse before they get better, that's how it works. You realize we are essentially going to _war _ against the Batterwitch. I think she might find it useful to know that there's an untrained but relatively strong mage going around in a place that's easy to ambush and kidnap people from, especially one that specializes in the restorative arts, considering that one less healer for the little rebel party is potentially a major blow, don't you? And who knows what she might actually do if she got her hands on you—"

"_Dirk!_" Roxy sharply interjected. "Stop, that's enough!"

Jane was trembling in her arms, whether from Dirk's words or the effort of keeping tears unshed or some combination of both. Roxy pulled her closer and soothingly rubbed her back.

"Please, Jane? Please don't do it anymore," she murmured pleadingly. "I just want you to be safe and happy. It's too risky, please don't go out there."

Jane was silent, but inside her thoughts were a whirling maelstrom. Helping people was so, so important to her, and ever since her father had disappeared she had been going to the dark districts to do just that—it had been going on for years, since she was twelve! She knew some families personally, by name and trade and whose favorite color was blue and which child dreamed of one day opening her own store so that she didn't have to live in poverty forever and how could she just leave them when they needed her?

It was such a stupid thing to be ruining her day over, too—she had been so happy when she had walked in with Roxy, and now she felt like the world was crashing down around her. No, no—do not cry, do not cry, not now not here not now, don't cry...

"Jane, it's just too dangerous and I'm worried for you. I don't want you going out there, especially now that we've really kicked off the movement, and—I guess I'm trying to say I'm sorry for saying it like that, I really didn't mean to make you cry, damn it—but it's true, you'll be a prime target out there and I don't think we can trust all of those people to keep you a secret," Dirk sighed and ran his hand through his mussed hair.

"Please?" Roxy asked her again.

Jane thought about the people she knew. She thought about the little boy who had begged her to play tag with him and his brother in the stony streets, about the young apothecary woman who had taught her uses of medicinal plants rather than just throwing magic at wounds, about the father of two twin girls who had tried to pay her for healing one of their broken arms while she had stood in the firelit wooden hovel, and about the elderly woman who had befriended her and told her stories as she helped her grandchildrens' illness.

She would be turning her back on them all.

"I—I promise," she said and felt as if a great weight had just fallen from and yet been added to her shoulders. It felt so final, as if a great bell had just signalled it in her mind—this is the end, the end—and suddenly she was weeping, great sobs that threatened to consume her as she slumped against Roxy, face buried in her hands.

"No no no, Janey, don't cry," Roxy cried, squeezing her and then gently pulling Jane's hands away in an effort to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Jake made a soft sound of dismay and sat on the carpet next to them, wrapping an arm around Jane's shoulders.

"Jane, Jane, it's okay," he repeated over and over, like a mantra to soothe her.

Dirk shifted his weight from leg to leg for a moment, tense and unsure of what to do with himself, but then came forward as well, sitting at her other side. One of his hands came to rest atop hers, thumb gently stroking her fingers. "Hey, Jane, I'm sorry. I'm glad you'll be safe, but I'm sorry it hurts you like this."

After a few minutes, the tears subsided. Jane didn't move, though, instead choosing to savor the moment and quietly remain there, held by all three of the people she held most dear in her heart.

"Wow," she said with a watery chuckle after a heartbeat, breaking the silence and destroying the moment of quiet peace. "So much for leaving early, I guess."

Roxy laughed and hugged her closer. "Oh well. At least we got that out of the way."

Dirk started to pull back; Jane caught his hand and held it with a plaintive look on her face. He gave her a surprised but genuine smile and returned to his previous position. "Better?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good."

* * *

Long, fuschia-tinted nails idly tapped the black wood of the armrest. A head bearing a cascade of luscious black hair and a crown leaned on the other hand, fuschia eyes studying the messenger with feigned indolence.

"Your Imperious Condescension," the cowering carapacian was saying, trying to disguise the trembling in his legs as he bowed. "My master sends you the following missive: 'The game is over, do not think I am unaware of your inability to hold a single planet. I will soon take it from you, fear not.'"

She straightened, nails now gouging into the wood next to the marks from previous incidences of her rage as fury coursed through her veins. "He thinks so, does he?"

So, her dear master knew of the petty uprising in her city. What, did the fools think that just by proximity to her throne they would be more effective than the same assembly in a peasant village five thousand miles from here? She was merely being a _benevolent _ruler and allowing them to realize they would all die if they didn't desist. Did he think they were truly a threat to her power?

Or perhaps he merely mistook her kindness for weakness. Those silly children, did they really think they stood a chance? They were merely pawns on her chessboard. But two could play this game.

"Tell him this, darling," she crooned to the shaking mesenger. "To the contrary, the game has just begun."

* * *

_AN: Ah yes, we're getting to the good stuff. LordPeanut... my sweet summer child. If you think that was the worst thing to go wrong, well, you're in for a ride, my friend! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I had fun writing it. This one sort of happened, and just wouldn't stop, so it's a bit longer than the rest, but hey! Longer is good too. I do feel bad for everything I have planned for them all, just a little. Especially Jane, poor dear. _

_Feedback is much appreciated! Please review? _


	7. Chapter 7: Worrisome Developments

Despite the trying times, young men and women generally still tried to have good days, if they at all could. Two young ladies definitely had the ability to give themselves good days, simply by spending time with each other. Currently, these two ladies were spending the night in the secret underground headquarters, as promised a little over a week earlier: they were going to forget the revolution, forget the Condensce, forget the world and just relax and enjoy their time together, just for a night.

"So I said, _why don't you actually read the lab instructions_. And do you know what this idiot did? He—" Roxy paused in her tale to let a giggle bubble out, then still grinning so widely her cheeks hurt she continued, "He ignored me, put his head up in this ludicrous way," and here she turned her chin up in a parody of her unfortunate classmate, "and then _slammed his hand on the wrong button!_ He just turned the appearifier off instead of creating paradox slime in the first place!" Unable to contain herself she burst into laughter, so amused by her own tale that she couldn't remain propped on her elbows and just flopped onto the carpet.

The laughter was contagious and Jane found herself also lying on the carpet, giggling and laughing half at Roxy's story and half at Roxy herself, flailing and gasping for breath, until she found herself misty-eyed.

"I don't understand how you can be stupid enough to mess that up, that's the easiest part!" Roxy exclaimed in a rare moment of being able to hold in another round of chortling, then collapsed again. "It was soooo funny, Jane, oh my god!"

"Well," Jane giggled as she pushed herself back into a half-sitting position, leaning on one arm, "I didn't see that happen but last week, I did see the poor new apprentice make the most basic mistake possible! He mixed up the salt and sugar! It was _ridiculous_!"

"Oh god!" Roxy snorted. "Even _I _ know not to do that, and I can't bake to save my life!"

"Well, I know nothing at all about ectobiology or whatever, so I think we're even." Jane grinned, then crossed her arms and huffed. "I hate not having glasses, everything is so blurry!"

"When do you get new ones?" Roxy asked, rolling over onto her stomach and propping herself up on her arms. A lock of wispy blonde hair fell across her face, and for the next few seconds she entertained herself by blowing at it in the hopes that it would tuck itself behind her ear again.

"When I save enough up from the bakery," Jane sighed. "Glasses are expensive! Now I have to squint at all the recipe cards for the ones I haven't memorized, and at all the ingredients I measure. It's a pain."

"Whaaaat?" the other girl sat up with a frown. "How much? I'll cover you!"

"What—no, I couldn't ask you to do that!" Jane sputtered, flustered. She reached up to adjust her glasses in a nervous habit, but ended up poking herself in the cheek instead.

To her credit, Roxy did make a valiant effort not to laugh, but it failed rather miserably. Jane also made a valiant effort to look affronted, but laughter has always been contagious and so instead both of them just lay on the floor and giggled.

"No, but really. I have money, I'll buy them for you! That way—" the upperclass girl started, only to be cut off by her friend.

"You don't have to do that! Really, I'll just save and go without some things for a month, and new glasses, that's it!" Jane shook her head quickly, making no-no motions with her hands as well. It was such a sweet thing of Roxy to offer, but she didn't need to spend her own money on something like this!

"Janey," Roxy sighed, catching the gesturing hands. "I am going to buy you glasses. If you don't want me to, you'll just have a pair with the wrong prescription. So, what will it be?"

"Oh, fine," Jane sighed back at her with an air of resignation. "You're too good to me!"

"I know how you can make it up to me," Roxy winked. "_Cookies._"

"Seriously?" An almost disbelieving look was directed at her. "Cookies? That's it?"

"Jaaane! Your cookies are _heaven_!" Roxy rolled onto her back in order to free her arms to gesture expansively. "Cookies make everything better, seriously."

"Cookies take maybe fifteen minutes to make, and they're not only really easy but also super cheap!" Jane grinned, then sat upright. "Come on, I'll make you cookies right now. Actually I can teach you to make them if you like! I don't think a junk-food diet like you and Dirk run on at your universities is very healthy, you know."

Dismissively flapping a hand at Jane, Roxy shook her head. "Nah, it's just terrible all around, what could possibly go wrong?" she giggled.

"I can think of things," Jane said dryly, tugging on Roxy's hand. "Come on, cookies!"

"Right, cookies!" Suddenly their positions had swapped and Roxy was dragging Jane to the kitchen, almost like a puppy with her enthusiasm. Jane laughed.

It was nice to relax and just spend time with a friend for a change.

* * *

Five days until the next rally, just five...

Jane sighed as she wearily trudged home, cloak hood up to shield against the misty rain that began falling. At least, she thought, it was warmer now. Spring was finally arriving. That was nice, but she wasn't going to really be able to enjoy it, that is even less so than last year. If she thought having a job was busy enough, having a job while planning a revolution was an absolute pain!

But it wasn't like she was going to ever drop either of those; the one was necessary to have the means to survive day-to-day, and the other was necessary to make life better, for both herself and others. She believed firmly in their cause, and furthermore she believed firmly in her friends.

Jake, Roxy, and Dirk had become her family after the deaths of her father and grandfather. Her mother was only a vague memory in the back of her mind; Jane had never really known her save for a warm presence and the idea of a bright smile. Grandfather had told her she had her mother's smile. She missed him, and her dad, too. But she wasn't alone now, and for that she was immeasurably grateful to her friends. The day she had met Jake had been one of the worst days of her life; meeting him was its only saving grace. It had been when she had found out about the accident that had killed her father and grandfather, and when she was wandering home to her now-empty apartment in a dazed state of grief and shock, far too late at night than was really safe to be out, some drunk man on the streets added icing to the cake of despair by attempting to 'woo' her, only frightening her in the process. Jake had appeared, told the man off with first angry words and then a fist, and then walked her home. Through him she'd met Dirk, and when she found out that Dirk and Roxy both knew each other, the family was sealed.

A gust of damp wind made the cloak flutter wildly about Jane's ankles as she stumbled around a puddle, trying to not get her old and worn boots soaked. Blowing out a sigh, she caught sight of her apartment block—_finally —_and with a bit more energy in her tired body crossed the final few meters to her home...

And paused, frowning, when a slouching, cloaked figure inconspicuously leaning in the open mouth of an alleyway pointed at her, directly at her, and said something to his companion, who nodded. Both of them melted into the shadows, but not before Jane caught a word from their conversation that made her blood run cold:

_Mage._

* * *

Jane sat in the kitchen, looking around anxiously every few seconds, especially at the window, whose drapes were drawn. Her legs, crossed at the ankles, swung back and forth under the wooden chair, and her hands clasped in her lap tightly enough that her knuckles were white.

Where to go, what to do? Had they found her out? Oh no, please no, let her still not be under the radar of the Batterwitch!

The idea of being taken from her family and the last vestiges of her old family too, the idea of being forced to use her innate magic to serve the very person she was trying so hard to eradicate, and the idea of becoming less than herself and less than a person, just another pet mage-slave of the Empress, all terrified her. Now, though, she wasn't sure what to do! Did she go to her friends? They would definitely want to know but she didn't dare endanger them, and she was not too keen on staying in her apartment, not if it was possible that the minions of the Condensce knew about her.

What to do what to do what to do?! She desperately wanted Dirk's advice—he was always good at keeping a level head in situations like... well, almost any situation she could think of—but there was no way of getting that, his home was across the entire city and she didn't own a portable communicator! Her only options were Roxy, which would still take a long walk in the rain, or Jake, who was nearby, but either way she might be tailed and then they might be found out too. Not good, not good, not good.

_Calm down_, her rational self said. _You don't even know if they meant you or it was a passing word. It might not have even had anything to do with you, really, maybe they were just saying 'that girl looks too dumb to be a mage'. _

The nervous knot in the pit of her stomach didn't really relax, but it unclenched enough for her to take a deep breath, in, and out. Okay. If they did think it was her, and that she was a mage, it was likely on the word of someone from the dark districts. In that case, she could turn them off her scent if she played it off just right—something like _oh, those silly peasants down there, I have gone down and distributed food and bandages and things, but there's not a drop of magic in me! They must be confused, poor uneducated dears_ might save her skin.

Another deep breath, slow and steady and _calm, remain calm._ She had to talk to her friends, that much was true; unlike some people she knew she sometimes made impulsive decisions. It was better to seek out advice first. Jane shivered, then wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and went to call on Jake.

* * *

He opened the door on the second knock, looking down at her with a bright grin that always appeared on his face when his friends showed up at his apartment.

"Good evening, Jane!" he greeted warmly, drawing her inside.

This had definitely been a good idea, Jane thought as she looked at the familiar, cozy confines of his small home. She could already feel some of the tension starting to drain away, though it didn't fully dissipate.

"Good evening to you, too, Jake!" she smiled up at him. Jake's ... not exactly happiness, per se, but optimistic air, or positive aura, perhaps, radiated and permeated the whole area around him, including his visitor, who found herself genuinely smiling rather than forcing herself not to look nervous.

"Is there a serious purpose to this visit?" he asked as they both entered the little sitting area, comfortably settling down in Jake's armchair in the same snuggled, Jane partly in Jake's lap position that had become common enough over the years to the point that it was no longer a point of embarrassment or blushing but just a habit now.

"Um... yes, about that, actually," she sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I was walking home today, and—"

"What?!" he exclaimed, already jumping to conclusions. "Are you alright? Did anyone—"

"No, no, Jake!" Jane hushed him quickly, shaking her head. "No, not that at all, no one attacked me or anything like that. But outside my apartment, well... there were these two guys in relatively fine-looking clothes, and I didn't hear everything they said but one of them pointed at me and I'm pretty sure I heard him say ... _mage_." Her voice dropped on the last word. "I... I don't know whether they mean they've found me out, or what, or..." she trailed off, looking up at him expectantly and then down at her hands, clasped in her lap again.

Jake was silent for a few heartbeats. "That is worrisome," he finally muttered, frowning. "Very worrisome."

"That's what I thought, too," Jane said dryly.

"I'd like to think that it was just a coincidence, but I think you need to be very careful," he continued seriously after grinning fleetingly at her remark. "Maybe you should stay here for a while..."

"Well, who would get the bed?" she attempted to joke, but could only really muster a slight smile herself. "But that aside I'm a little worried that they might see me acting differently and take note of that. That, and also I don't want to drag you down with me!"

Jake huffed. "Now see here, Jane, you're not dragging me anywhere! Whatever I do for you is of my own volition, and if it ends up with me sitting next to you wherever we end up, so be it."

Something else she didn't want to think about: wherever she might end up.

Jane bit her lip, and slowly met his gaze, shifting so that one of her hands was on his shoulder. "Jake, I... I'm scared." The admission made it seem that much more real, too, and a wave of dread crashed over her.

"That's why I'll be with you the whole time!" he promised earnestly. "I'll keep you safe, Jane."

She hugged him. "Thank you."

After a moment she pulled away to resume their previous position with an air of mentally dusting herself off. "But back to pragmatic concerns... what do you think?"

Jake looked thoughtful, a crease forming between his brows as he frowned in contemplation. "I honestly am not very sure," he replied uncertainly. "Act normal, I suppose, but be on your guard. I feel like there really ought to be more I can do, however."

Jane shrugged. "I don't know what I could ask you to do!"

"Perhaps if I came to stay with you for some time?" he suggested. "We could say that it's because I didn't have enough money to pay for my water bill this month so I'm temporarily mooching off of you, should anyone inquire."

Jane began to look hopeful for the first time that evening. "Would you really be willing to?" she asked, smiling slightly. "I mean, it's asking a lot."

"I told you," Jake grinned, "I'm sticking with you."

Her smile could have lit up the whole city.

* * *

_AN: Wow, this took forever to write in comparison to the others! Hm, I'm really busy and I'm going to be struggling to keep trying to update within 5 days of my previous update. I might have to reduce it to once a week or so, though I'll try not to! _

_I'll also be out of town with probably very little time to write at all for 2 weeks in the near future, so probably one more chapter then a bit of a wait, but we'll see. Just a heads up!_

_LordPeanut: Fun fact: Crockertier was not what I originally planned, but thank you for the idea! :) :) :) As you can see, she didn't need to break her promise to get in trouble xD and I have even more in store. And no, we don't know a lot about Jake and Dirk. Dirk's never really had the need to destroy any souls so far, and well, what even does Jake do in canon? XD Actually I'm trying to write a bit in of him subtly doing magic without even realizing it, like how he's always __hopeful__ and Jane always notes that he has this ability to hold things together and not ever give in to things being sucky and dark. _

_Snowy: Hi friend and welcome to this story! :) I'm really glad you like it, and even more glad that you think I'm getting characterization right! I find myself worrying about making them ooc a lot, so I'm super happy you think it's accurate! And thank you so much, it's a very high compliment to know that my AU is one that draws someone who is selective about AUs in. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_By the way... I have a basic outline of main plot points but things you guys suggest have a possibility of actually being put in __like crockertier!jane I mean what__ so if there's something you'd like to see, drop it in a review and I'll consider adding it! Okay, concluding this long note with this, thanks for reading (both note and more importantly story)!_


	8. Chapter 8: Flours and Flowers

A tap on her shoulder directed Jane's attention to her companion, who had joined her in the line to buy flour. She smiled up at him happily, because even if she was more fearful than usual for their lives at least her friend was with her and that was worth something, right? Then the item he was proudly clutching caught her attention, and her face lit up even as part of her wondered how much money he'd spent on them.

"Jake!" she laughingly scolded. He was grinning and holding out a bouquet of wildflowers, purchased from the little girl wandering the marketplace and advertising her hand-picked wares. "When I said we need to buy _flour_, that's not what I meant!"

Nonetheless, she allowed him to carefully tuck a bloom into her hair, still with a little smile on her face. Jake stepped back and nodded in satisfaction.

"There!" he proclaimed. "You look even more lovely than usual!"

Jane giggled, then stole a flower from his hand. Standing on the tips of her toes, she made her best attempt to place it in his hair, as securely as she could. "You're too tall, Jake! But at least we match now."

Jake laughed, reaching up to adjust the flower so that it didn't fall, then patting her head. "Indeed, we do! But I think the problem might be that you're too small."

"Why, you!" she exclaimed in mock outrage, gently elbowing his side. "At least, noble sir, use your great height to tell me why this line is moving so slowly?"

He laughed again, looping his arm around her shoulders, and after peering over the tops of the heads of those in front of them as best as he could, replied, "It appears that the proprietor is having an argument with someone ahead of us."

"Again?" Jane groaned, letting her head fall against Jake's shoulder in mild despair. "We might be here for hours!" The man, a crochety one with a good eye for wares, was Jane's usual vendor for ingredients, but he really knew how to haggle, and he also was an expert at holding his ground in a stand-off. It could get quite frustrating.

"Really? My, what a cantankerous old fellow!" Jake said good-naturedly, adjusting his glasses. Jane wrinkled her nose. Of course, nothing could get this one down!

"So, to recap," she complained lightheartedly, "I'm half-blind, hosting a boy who comes to my house to mooch off my food, and stuck in a marketplace line for who knows how long?"

"Pretty much!" Jake beamed infuriatingly, then lost his ability to maintain that smirk and broke into laughter. Jane giggled, too, but then straightened.

"Oh! Jake, look, the line's moving again!" She quickly stepped forward to make sure no one would squeeze in front of them. "Well, unless someone else starts bothering the old coot, we should get out of here in not that long now!"

Truth be told she was very glad of this fact. Jake's presence assuaged her fears and kept her from fretting and worrying herself too much, but it was pretty much impossible to completely quell the knot of cold fear that had become an everyday fixture in the pit of her stomach since that one evening three nights ago. It would be good to get out of the streets and the public eye and back into the relative security of her apartment.

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Jake casually draped his arm around her shoulders again, giving her a gentle squeeze and encouraging wink. "Excellent! The sooner we're out of here, the sooner we get home and I can mooch off of your cooking!"

Another laugh found her, despite her misgivings about being here at all, which were starting to come back as the sun began to set, the tall rickety buildings casting long shadows on the cobbled bricks of the road. "Are you ever not hungry?"

"Nope!" he grinned broadly. "It's a special talent."

The line moved forward again and they both shifted up two steps. "You seem to have perfected it, for sure."

"Why, thank you, Jane! Such a high compliment."

"You're welcome. You know I don't hand out high praise lightly!"

"I do know that! It means an awful lot to know you think I've mastered the art of never turning down food."

"Did it take a lot of practice?" she asked wryly, taking another one of the flowers from his bouquet and idly twirling it between two of her fingers.

"Oh, you have no idea. But the thing is, Jane, you can never truly master it, so you always need more practice." Jake was grinning ear-to-ear.

Once more the line shifted forward, moving much more quickly now that the cantankerous proprietor and his crabby previous customer were separated. They were almost to the selling booth, finally.

This was good, because the sun had nearly set completely, and Jane really didn't care for the thought of being outside after dark, even if it was only barely dark. Even if this was just the lower districts and not the dark districts, they were still pretty unsafe. And in her present, possibly precarious position, it was definitely better to remain safe than to be sorry.

She really didn't need more to worry about, what with the rally being in a scant two days. Dirk still hadn't come by to talk about the speeches, so she assumed it would just pretty much be a mixture of last time plus some improvisation, but who knew? Rallies were fickle things. Hopefully, this one wouldn't end in her nearly getting trampled, because _that _was definitely not her ideal way to go.

Another little pang shot through her at the thought of Dirk and Roxy. Neither of them knew about the ... _situation_, as Jane had taken to calling it in her mind, and they really did deserve to know—but what could they do about it, anyway? Hopefully nothing reckless, at least. It seemed like her world had turned upside-down in just a matter of days, all over again, and this time the two upper-district residents had been left behind in its upheaval. It almost felt like she hadn't seen them in weeks rather than days! Ever since Jake had come to stay with her she had felt more like she had before joining the Movement, which was simply focused on day-to-day survival more than anything else. But now, she had to at least plan what she was going to say at the rally, because as Dirk had said, stage fright definitely could be killer.

Jake pulled her, quite literally, from her reverie by tugging her forward in line. Now only one person stood between them and the ability to purchase flour so Jane could bake some fresh loaves of bread for them that night. "Come along, Jane!" he said jovially.

"How are you still so energetic?" she asked with a little laugh. "I'm ready to go to sleep already!"

"It too is an art requiring much practice," was the solemn reply. Jane was about to open her mouth to issue another sarcastic retort when his lips twitched, and he added, "But mostly it's because I'm just looking forward to a good hot meal!"

"Right, you never make yourself dinner. I'd forgotten. Dirk and Roxy are influencing your eating habits with all their junk food from university, hm?" she chuckled. "How all of you get by on that kind of sustenance is beyond me."

Jake shrugged. "It's fast, at least. More time for sleeping!"

Jane laughed, but didn't get a chance to say anything because now it was their turn to buy a sack of flour, finally.

"Good evening, Mr. Frenn," she greeted politely, digging into her purse for the correct amount of change.

Frenn nodded gruffly. "Evenin'," he replied. "Big or small bag?"

Jane paused. Usually, she purchased the small bag; however, she'd been saving up a bit more and now could easily afford the larger one, and now her lack of arm-strength wasn' a problem. "Well," she said with a wry look at Jake, "I guess we can put your excess energy to use." Turning back to the flour vendor, she smiled and pulled out a few extra coins. "The big bag, please."

The old man grunted and filled a sack with flour, then accepted and carefully counted Jane's coins before handing it over.

"Thank you!" Jane looked expectantly up at Jake, who handed her the flowers to free his hands so he could obligingly hoist up the sack, and then the two of them began to walk home.

"You know," Jane commented as she bolted the door, "this place is really depressing to look at."

"How so?" Jake asked over his shoulder, entering the kitchen to deposit the cumbersome sack in the proper cabinet.

"All dark brick and chipped stone, old tall buildings that block out the sun! It's not very aesthetically pleasing." She took the flowers in her hand to the table where she placed them in a vase. That at least was pretty to see!

"Well, I suppose you're glad we found a place in the upper side of the Tunnels, then?" his voice floated back to her, followed by a _thump_ and a yelp.

Jane, mildly alarmed, darted to the kitchen door, where she stood for a moment staring at Jake, sitting on the floor, in amusement before starting to laugh. "Did you drop it or something?" she giggled.

He huffed and crossed his arms, but any irritation he may have tried to project was completely nullified by the small cloud of flour still floating around him and the fact that his head and shoulders were liberally dusted in it, though the vast majority remained in the bag. It appeared that Jake had accidentally dropped the bag, whose crudely-fastened top had flown open and flour had soared out.

"Something like that," he answered, then sneezed. Jane burst into laughter again, and Jake found himself chuckling as well, despite the flour dust that obscured his vision—dammit, the stuff was all over his glasses!

"You are a silly boy," she told him, now crossing the kitchen's tile floor to find a rag so she could start cleaning up. Jake grinned up at her, then when her back was turned he dipped a hand into the little pile of flour already on the floor.

As soon as she turned back around to start wiping up the flour, he triumphantly tossed the handful at her, successfully scoring a hit on her cheek and in her hair, and also eliciting a surprised squeak as she recoiled.

"That's for the moustache!" he exclaimed.

Jane smacked his arm. "You got me, fair and square. But this means _war_! And also a bit of a longer wait until dinner's ready."

"Fiddlesticks! Well, I'll help you clean up," he offered earnestly, looking at her with more than a little trepidation. "If that'll settle the score at all. Or I could just surrender this war."

"Good to know you realize you can't win a prank war against me," she smirked, then tossed him the wet rag. "Here, wipe up the floor please? I'll go ahead and set the bread to baking, so it'll be done by the morning. Tonight I'll make flatbread, because it doesn't need rising time. That'll be ready in about an hour."

Jake obediently set about using the damp cloth to wipe the flour dust from the floor and cabinets and drawers after carefully placing the full bag into its designated cabinet. Jane measured some out into a large bowl, adding flour, oil, salt, and water and kneading the dough, humming as she worked.

There was a sharp rap on the door.

Both of them tensed, exchanging glances. Jane placed her bowl of dough on the counter and carefully walked to the door, Jake standing in the kitchen doorway and watching, and slowly pulled it open.

"What," Dirk Strider asked, raising an eyebrow as he took in her flour-dusted appearance.

"Oh, hi, Dirk!" she greeted with the slight overenthusiasm that comes with a rush of relief. "Come on in!" Stepping back, she opened the door more fully to allow him to enter, slamming it shut a bit too quickly immediately behind him and sliding the locks and bolt into place.

"What," he repeated upon seeing the even-more-flour-coated Jake hovering in the doorway, one hand casually holding a pistol. "Did something happen?"

"Jake dropped the flour," Jane explained with a giggle. "And then threw some at me, which," she twisted halfway around to wag a finger at her other friend, "he is going to regret."

"Hello, Dirk!" Jake greeted cheerfully, placing the pistol back on the side table, where he could grab it again if necessary. "If at any point I stop showing up to meetings, assume Jane has brutally defeated me in a prank war."

Dirk's lips twitched and he snorted in amusement, though his eyes still held bemusement and a bit of caution at their odd behavior. Well, odder than usual. "I'll keep that in mind. Try not to kill him, Jane?"

To his surprise, Jane didn't laugh at that, instead shaking her head vehemently. "I would never dream of it!"

"Good to know that!" Jake came to stand behind her and clapped her on the shoulder with a floury hand, successfully dispelling the momentary look of darkness that had crossed her face.

"Jake!" she scolded, playfully slapping his arm again but laughing again, too. "Cut that out!"

He grinned down at her, chortling, and then looked back to Dirk. "So, Dirk, what brings you here this fair evening?"

"I figured we could talk about speeches again," replied the other young man. "Is that alright, Jane?"

"Of course!" she nodded, all business. The light orange flower Jake had tucked into her hair earlier fell and fluttered to the floor, unnoticed. "I'll just finish preparing dinner, then we can sit down and straighten things out! Oh," Jane placed her hands on her hips, giving him a stern look, "and don't think you're not staying to eat actual food, not whatever that disgusting stuff you and Roxy seem to think is appropriate for dinner. I don't care how fast it is to prepare, it's not good food!"

Yes, Jane was economically challenged these days. But she would always champion the cause of good, homemade food over the strange, chemical-laden and artificially flavored sugary junk that seemed to characterize the markets of the upper districts; the food there seemed made more for the aim of being aesthetically awe-inspiring and colorful and pretty, not actually nourishing. Jane's father had had dreams of opening a bakery with her and had instilled in her the love of cooking that she bore to this day; even though now she knew she would never own her own business, at least until the Batterwitch was overthrown, she still loved to create her own works of culinary art and give her friends actual good food.

"Uh..." Dirk ran a hand through his hair. "Sure, I guess."

"Good!" Jane beamed as Jake added, "It's not like you really had a choice there anyway, Dirk!"

"I'll just be a moment!" Jane called over her shoulder as she whirled away back into the kitchen, returning to kneading her dough and making a separate dough with yeast, precious commodity that it was, to set in the oven to rise before she baked it.

"So, Jake. What're you doing here? I thought it was past the usual time for you to be back at your place."

"It _is _past the safe time to be out in these districts, now that you mention it," Jake replied, intentionally or unintentionally sidestepping the question. "Are you truly planning to walk back across town on your own later tonight?"

"I have a sword," Dirk shrugged.

"Oh, don't be stupid!" Jake exclaimed. "It is really not safe out there!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do, stay the night?"

"Yes," Jake answered as if it were obvious. "Ja-ane!" he called more loudly.

"Mmhmm?" her voice drifted back to them.

"We're sharing the bed tonight!"

"Yeah, I know!" Apparently, she had already come to the same conclusion—that they really shouldn't let Dirk go out into the streets after dark, armed or not. The crime rate in the lower districts was pretty high, after all, and included gang activities that were often based in the dark districts. Most people, if they knew what was good for them, kept their heads low and stayed as uninvolved as possible, and Jane and Jake were no exceptions to this rule. It was as simple as life and death, and a truth all who lived in the lower districts knew from childhood. So Dirk would have the couch tonight.

"Good, I was just making certain!"

Dirk had opened his mouth to object but then closed it again, amusement flickering in his amber-colored eyes. "Well, if you insist so badly."

"We do," Jake assured him.

"You never answered my question, though," Dirk pointed out. "What are you doing here, just mooching off of Jane's food?"

"Yes," Jake grinned, but the amusement faded quickly to be replaced by anxiety and concern. "If anyone else asks, I spent unwisely last month and was unable to pay my expenses, so I am temporarily residing with my good and kindhearted friend."

"And if I ask?" Dirk's eyes narrowed, his body seeming tense despite his casual posture.

"I'm staying here because a few days ago—we aren't completely sure of what it was, but there's no harm in being a bit more cautious, right—there were some apparent upper-districters, an official-looking bunch, who Jane noticed watching her when she came home, and she overheard one of them say 'mage' and point at her. We don't know how much cause for alarm this is, but..."

"Well, shit," Dirk muttered, casting a look at the door to the kitchen, from where Jane could be heard singing to herself as she worked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Jake sighed, shaking his floury head. "I'm worried, she's scared, it's all a tad upsetting."

"A tad," Dirk nodded. "Just a smidgeon, not a big deal. Right."

"Do you have any idea what to do?"

Dirk froze, then sighed, slumping onto the couch near them and unbuckling his sword from his side, upon which it clattered to the wood of the floor. "I ... hm. I think what you're doing is the best idea, at least while we have this little information on the situation. Oh, this might be useful," he added, digging around in one pocket of the bag slung over his shoulder to pull out an object shaped approximately like a rectangular prism, with a keypad and screen.

"It's only a prototype, but it should serve the purpose we need," he said, setting it on the table. "It's solar powered, so when you're not using it set it near a light source—"

"Dirk," Jake interrupted, "what _is _it?"

"Oh. Sorry, heh. It's a rough version of a handheld communicator that's off the main networks. Since it's not refined I only connected it to my account, so it can only send and receive messages to and from me, but it's discreet."

Jake leaned forward curiously. "That seems handy."

"Yeah, I hope so. Hey, where's Lil Seb gotten off to?"

"Jane's bedroom, I believe," Jake answered absently as he turned the small but slightly heavy device over in his hands. "He's been fairly quiet, so that at least is some sort of relief."

Just then, Jane called from the kitchen, "Boys! Dinner's ready, come get it while it's hot!"

Handing the communicator back to Dirk, Jake stood and bounded to the other room. "I'm famished! What do we have today, Jane?"

Dirk laughed softly and followed him, watching the two of them with a small, fond smile from the doorway for a moment. They were both laughing at some silly comment, Jane at the stove making another round flatbread and Jake dancing around her to gather plates and bowls and cups. Despite the worries surrounding them, the two of them seemed genuinely happy, hopeful even.

Jake grabbed a napkin and after running it under some water, wiped the remaining flour from Jane's cheek. She flipped the flatbread on the pan and turned to him with a bright smile, bestowing a light kiss to his cheek with mild difficulty and more laughter, and then passed him a plate with already-cooked flatbreads stacked on it.

And then she looked up and caught Dirk's eye, raising a hand and beckoning him in. The small smile grew slightly, and he found himself drawn into the chaos of the kitchen. Jane took his hand and pulled him over, handing him a plate as well, and directing him to the chutney on the counter that Jake was helping himself to.

She smiled up at him and kissed his cheek as well, and then stifled a giggle when he blushed. Making her own plate, she turned off the stove and then joined her two friends at the little table. The flowers nicely decorated it, a small burst of color in the room.

They ate the meal, serious matters pushed aside for now. At least for the time being, the three of them were content to just be friends and be merry, for once deciding not to worry about what the future would hold and whether the day would ever come.

And for once, it was just very, very nice.

* * *

_AN: Ah, something calmer and sweeter. Not every chapter can be full of plot twists, after all! This one was just fluffier, I tried to give the poor dears a break. Either way, have a nice extra 1000 words or so, this one was longer than the rest of my chapters by quite a bit! It just kept coming. Thoughts, comments, etc, are always appreciated, and thank you for reading! _

_LordPeanut: ...I'm not totally sure if that's genuine love for crockertier and you want me to include it, or an attempt at reverse psychology to get me not to make Jane suffer? :P I haven't actually even decided if that'll be a thing, so either way... you might have a chance at persuading me. And here we go, here's Dirk! He didn't do a lot this chapter but he'll be around next time, I think. Yeah, Jane has really good friends! They'll be there for her... and she'll be there for them._

_Snowy: asdjfkld;saj you make me very happy! I'm seriously super flattered! Eee, thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this one too! :) The plot thickens, indeed._

_As mentioned, I'm going to be out of town for two weeks starting at the end of this week, so I don't know if I'll get another chapter out by then or not, and I don't have any clue if I'll have time to write during those two weeks. So possibly a little hiatus there, heads up!_


	9. Chapter 9: Planning Is Important

Less than twenty-four hours until the next rally in the market square remained, and the clock kept ticking. The group was, of course, meeting that night, because due to the rather impromptu scheduling of this rally, they had a less-organized schedule and needed all the planning time they could get!

Roxy casually sauntered down through the bright and bubbly main blocks of the upper city, full of colorful lights and screens advertising products, past stores full of mannequins adorned with bold strokes of color in amazing shapes, each blazing with lights in the windows as well. That was the best word to describe the upper districts, bright. Everything was designed to be eye-catching and loud and "pretty", though she honestly found them annoying (especially on those days, more common in the past, when she woke up with a hangover). But they had their perks, and one of those was that if you knew how, it was _very _easy to blend into the background and let the overwhelming sensory overload wash over you and hide you from searching eyes.

And Roxy Lalonde was nothing if not good at escaping attention. Sometimes she even felt like she was invisible, but that was just fantasy! Still, she attracted no attention and easily made her way into the darkness of the Tunnels. Unlike Jane, Roxy felt quite at home in the blackness, navigating it with ease. She traversed the relatively short albeit rather turn-laden path to the hideout, content in the knowledge that she was, as usual, unnoticed—in the Tunnels the rule was if you don't ask for attention, you get none—and entered, a small smile on her face. Navigating the hallway that led to the meeting room was no trouble, and she walked in to find one other sitting on the couch already, carefully cleaning his sword.

"Hi, Dirk," she said with a cheery smile, plopping down on the couch next to him.

"Hey, Roxy," he replied, taking his eyes from the blade long enough to give her a half-smile before returning to his work.

They sat in a quiet silence for a few minutes until Dirk finished, sheathing the sword and placing it on the low table that the three couches faced.

"So," Roxy ventured, drawing out the word into a long _soooo_. "How was your day?"

"Good enough. That exam I mentioned in electronics was today, but it was a lot easier than I was expecting it to be. Which was nice, because I didn't actually study last night."

"Whaaat?" she drew back, widening her eyes in mock astonishment. "What were you doing instead of studying?"

"I was at Jane's house," he replied, his face growing grim. Roxy was instantly on guard.

"What am I out of the loop on this time? Is she okay?" she asked quickly, an urgent undertone in her voice belying the underlying fears.

"She's okay, for now at least," Dirk nodded tersely. "Apparently she might be under watch for suspicion of being a mage."

"I bet it's because of all that dark district dumbness," Roxy muttered, shaking her head. "This is bad, very bad, I don't like this one bit! Can we do anything?" It was more of a rhetorical question than an actual one, but Dirk shrugged.

"I gave them a prototype I've been making for us to use later. It's a communicator that's off the main network, like the computers I've set up in here, but it's only connected to my account because, like I said, it's a prototype."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up. 'Them'? Jake's with her?"

"Yeah, sorry, forgot to mention that."

Roxy looked palpably relieved. "Well... I guess that's good, at least. Jane really worries me sometimes, you know? She's so passionate about everything but she has no consideration for herself, it makes me want to tie her to a chair and yell at her about thinking before she does these things."

Dirk chuckled dryly. "Roxy, you're not exactly the best person to lecture on the merits of thinking before acting."

"Or am I?" she winked at him cheekily. "For all you know, I just have a carefully-constructed façade of being a slightly impulsive conjurer law-school girl and I've already planned this all five steps ahead."

"For all I know, right. Except I do know that while you're plenty smart enough to pull that off, you're also a bit too lazy."

"Maybe that's part of my act!" she laughed, then shook her head. "Nah, you're right, as ever, Strider."

He grinned at her. "I know."

She reached over and smacked him lightly, eliciting a laugh, then both sobered. Dirk sighed.

"But... you are right. At least she's not a total optimist and idealist on top of everything, she's cynical, which is something in her favor most of the time. In that regard, she and Jake are definitely good for each other. I think she'll be okay, though."

"I hope so," Roxy murmured. "Damn, Janey, always getting into trouble!"

"It's like you said. She's too passionate but never uses her head." Dirk ran his fingers through his hair again with mild exasperation.

"Well, that's why she has us," Roxy smiled fondly. Jane was her good friend, the sweetheart. She would always be there for her, and she knew the opposite was true, as well. And it extended to the two boys, too—the four of them were a family, not just a group of friends.

"That's why we have each other," Dirk affirmed.

* * *

Stepping outside, Jane surveyed the sky. The eve of the second big rally, the really, really audacious one, was grey and misty and humid, coming on the tail end of a rainy day. The clouds seemed to be moving away, though, so she figured they would have no impact on turnout. Hopefully once they fully cleared, the weather would be revealed to be a beautiful, sunny spring day, perfect for overthrowing a government.

At the moment, she was walking through the maze of alleyways and warrens that comprised the path to the entrance to the Tunnels, the notorious labyrinth that ran under the city. No one really knew their original purpose, but now they served as meeting-places and secret locations or homes for those with none better. The hide-out that the four friends had taken to using had been found as an abandoned... something with several rooms, and a hidden entrance, which was perfect for their use. It had a somewhat labyrinthine setup of its own, which was even more perfect; Dirk had used his knowledge of electronics and wiring to make sure they had power, and they all kept it stocked with food that Jane usually took it upon herself to cook whenever they had meetings.

Jake, too, was walking with her, and she had to admit he cut an impressive figure in the flapping cloak. He was tall and while he wasn't exactly burly, he was still muscular, thanks to his factory job that required hours of intensive physical labor. That combined with his "dashing good looks", as he had called them with a wink, gave him quite the notable appearance. Jane, meanwhile, was demurely walking alongside him, garbed in a plain blue skirt and blouse under her own tightly-drawn cloak with a cloth-covered basket on one arm. Their arms were linked and they walked more or less in step, though they didn't speak for now—the less sound, the less attention gathered, the better.

Entering the Tunnels proved to be a mild hassle without glasses, and not for the first time Jane cursed her poor vision. It was darkening outside, already dark underground, and the surface of the earth as well as the steps leading down were all rough and easy to trip over. Muttering darkly to herself, she clutched at Jake's arm and shot him a look that just dared him to laugh at her, which to his credit he didn't, instead helpfully guiding her down the stairs until they were in the pitch-black of the Tunnels and had the same visibility, which is to say none.

A few more quiet moments in the darkness brought them to the entrance to the hideaway. Once they entered, both of them seemed to relax some, walking up the hallway that led to the room mainly used for their meetings with a more self-assured air and a bit of light chatter.

Opening the door showed them that both Roxy and Dirk were already there, both of them talking about something or other as they waited. They looked up at the entry of the newcomers, Roxy bounding over immediately to steal Jane away from Jake and sweep her into a hug.

"Janey!" she exclaimed. "Dirk told me about the thing with people maybe finding out about you? Be careful, I'm worrying now! Don't make me worried, I have exams to stress about!"

Jane blushed in embarrassment, looking down to her feet. "Sorry, Roxy, I don't mean to make you worry—"

"Dirk," Roxy interrupted, turning to him and extending one arm in his general direction as if demanding something. The robotics student looked disgruntled but fished a bill out of his wallet and handed it over to her waiting hand. "I don't know why you bother betting against me," she giggled, hugging Jane again. "I said that I figured the second I mentioned I worried about you you'd try to apologize for it. Dirk is now a bit poorer than he was," she explained to the mystified girl. "But stop apologizing, Janey! Just be careful, okay?"

"Uh, Jane?" Jake interrupted. "What do you want me to do with the basket?" He held up the offending item questioningly.

"Oh!" Jane extricated herself from Roxy to scoop up the basket. "Before we get down to business, give me a moment, I'll pop this into the oven and it'll be ready in about half an hour!"

"Oh my god. Janey did you bring us dinner?" Roxy asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Jane replied with a smile. "Told you, I don't know how you live on that stuff from those weird colorful stores." She took the basket to the kitchen area, where she removed the cover to reveal a casserole all laid out in its pan and ready to go in the oven. A few minutes passed and the oven was heated, and she deftly slid the pan into the hot space; then dusting her hands she returned to the sitting area and slid onto one of the unoccupied sofas, Roxy plopping down next to her. The taller girl had trailed behind her to the kitchen and watched the casserole on its journey into the oven, eyes bright and eager because wow did that thing look delicious!

Once the four of them were seated, the meeting began in earnest. Most plans were already set, having been determined months in advance; only logistics and details remained, but those were some of the most important parts of the movement and could not be lightly dismissed, else the whole thing fall apart in flames.

"So we know the time, same as last week. The actual rally starts at midday, so we will be there an hour beforehand, and make sure everything is prepared. Jane and I have prepared the speeches, those are ready and they are pretty damn fine, let me just tell you," Dirk was saying. "Jane, Jake, I'm assuming you guys will show up together from the south, and Roxy and I will meet you at the café on the south side, is that good?"

"Sounds great!" Jane nodded, glancing at Jake, who despite his usual lighthearted demeanor looked quite serious as he also acquiesced. "Same mask as last week, right?"

"Yeah, it's your thing now, like mine's the shades. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself." He flashed a grin for a moment before returning to the serious discussion at hand.

"And me and Jake are lookouts again!" Roxy interjected. "Jake, let's switch corners. That way I won't get bored of watching the same place and zone out!"

"That is fine by me!" he agreed. "You take east, I'll take west."

"And when the troops show up, what do we do?" Roxy continued. "Jake, don't look at me like that, they're going to show up. We have to have a plan for it."

"I wish there was an easy way to get our attention from the back without panicking the whole crob," Jane commented. "That way we could know when to wrap things up and get out of there!"

"A flag?" Roxy suggested. "A little red handkerchief on a pole?"

"That... is actually a good idea," Jane said, sounding slightly surprised. "I like it! Simple but effective."

"And then lose the flag before anyone can say you were the one waving it," Dirk added.

"I know, I know," Roxy grinned at him. "I'll even use gloves when handling the pole so they can't see who last held it."

"Good, you can never be too careful out there." Jane clasped her hands in her lap. "So we can make that before leaving tonight, there's red cloth and probably a spare pole or something back here somewhere! When we see that, we announce that we're marching in twelve days and hightail it out of there, right?"

"Pretty much," Dirk affirmed with a snort. "I'll stay with you this time, and we'll go through the north exit through a few back alleyways and head back to my place for the night. Roxy, Jake, you guys stay together too, but go out the south side and lie low in the lower quarter for a bit," he instructed. "In the morning we can all return to our usual homes, I guess. We'll meet up here again not that evening, but the day after, around... is four hours before dusk too early?"

"No, it's fine! The bakery and factory, among other places, are closed for inspection, so we actually don't have work that day," Jane smiled. "It's lovely, the once-in-a-blue-moon days when they actually inspect industries down here. We get holidays!"

Jake nodded. "I'm going to not do anything in particular all day and steal Jane's food, that's the plan."

Jane laughed at him, then Roxy called everyone's attention again. "Okay, that's fine, but now there is a very important question: Janey, is that casserole done yet? I'm so hungry!"

Everyone laughed, and Jane got up to check. "Almost, give it another five minutes!" she reported upon returning to her seat. Roxy groaned.

"Five whole minutes? Oh no, too long!"

Jane giggled. "Nonsense, you're in law school and also taking science courses! That's what I call too long."

Roxy didn't deign to reply, instead dramatically falling back onto the couch cushions with a sigh of "How I just want some Crocker casserole!"

She sat up after a moment again, brightly grinning. "Anything else we need to go over? We've covered signalling, speechwriting, and escape routes as well as times, and everything else I can immediately think of we've talked about previously. Are we ready?"

"I think so," Jake said.

"Yeah, we are," Dirk nodded confidently.

"Hopefully," Jane added.

"Go team!" Roxy cheered. "We can do this! Now, motion to adjourn for dinner? Seconded by my lovely self, thank you Roxy. Meeting adjourned, let's get some food."

It was one of the last few nights of merriment they would have for a long while.

* * *

_AN: Aahhh I didn't want to leave you guys for a full three weeks because that's nearly a month and I hate when stories don't update for a month! So I tried to crank this out as best as I could. We're getting closer and closer to the part I'm excited about, five more chapters to go until we get there! Okay, seriously, I'm going on a trip, no more updates for two weeks! :P_

_LordPeanut: Hm, interesting viewpoint on it, I think! I personally really don't like crockertier because the idea of not being in control of your body and words really freaks me out haha, but I can totally see where you're coming from there! It just broke my heart a bit when she apologized to Jake before killing him. _

_Snowy: I already thanked you once but holy crap you are magical or something, the quality of the writing is what I was fretting about last chapter! As I go on I find myself more comfortable in the characters, but I still worry about that too, so thank you ever so much. And heehee, yes, thanks for the wish for a fun trip! I'm pretty excited!_

_Thank you all for reading, and see you in two weeks! _


	10. Chapter 10: The Bigger Rally

As Jane had suspected, the day of the rally dawned clear and sunny. It was a little chilly again, thanks to the rainstorm that had moved through, but at least when in the sunshine the air was warm enough that she didn't feel the urge to steal Jake's warm-looking green jacket, which he had decided he didn't need and draped over his arm as they walked.

The nervous butterflies were certainly all aflutter in her core, expressing themselves in her hands, which never seemed to sit still but rather flitted about as she moved, fingers dancing lightly as if holding something, or playing music, or just moving to dispel that nervous energy. Jake noticed after a few moments of characteristic obliviousness, and seized one of them to hold tightly.

"I take it you're excited," he murmured, amusement and anticipation flickering in his emerald-green eyes.

Jane giggled, a little too high-pitched and long to be natural. "Yes, excited, definitely, that must be it."

"Think of it as a grand adventure!" he suggested with a roguish grin and wink, which were successful in their goal of eliciting a more genuine laugh from her. More earnestly, he paused in his stride to squeeze her hand again, taking the other one as well and meeting her gaze, and added, "I have every confidence that you will do perfectly, Jane."

Jane looked up at him with an air of absolute trust in every word, clasping his hands too. Suddenly it seemed as if the butterflies all settled down and left, as if they had scarcely even been there to begin with, and were replaced with a calm sense of purpose and optimism. Her levelheadedness returned, and with a light tinkling laugh she squeezed his hands back and stepped away to continue walking, saying "Come on, we're blocking the street standing in the middle like that!"

Jake snorted but quickly fell into step beside her once more. Around two more corners and down three more thoroughfares, busy and bustling already even an hour before the rally as people flocked to the market square, lay the café at which they had pledged to meet. It was a mostly quiet walk from that point, the mood too serious for banter but not dark enough to really be grim, just a bit anxious and determined.

As expected, Dirk and Roxy were not yet present. They would, knowing Dirk, arrive precisely on the dot and no later, but knowing Roxy, probably not much sooner either. The two lower-quarter residents entered the café, a small open-air affair with a bar and dessert case. Jane purchased a small pastry and Jake some coffee, and both selected the table that they usually picked—not too far in the shadows or away from anything to make it look like they were avoiding others, but definitely out of the way. It was a little bit of a study in psychology, finding the balancing point between avoiding suspicion and being overheard. This was an innate ability to them, however, as when one grows up in the lower districts, they learn how to survive around many unsavory crowds quickly.

It was due to this almost intuitive sense that Jane refrained from crossing her legs too tightly or nervously looking around too often—if you look nervous, people know you're nervous, and then they wonder what you're nervous about. So she just tapped her feet inside her shoes, something that was less than obvious under her skirt, and stabbed the pastry with her fork.

Jake seemed outwardly relaxed, too, but she knew that didn't really mean anything. "How are you doing?" she asked quietly, looking over to him.

"Fine, fine!" he replied automatically.

"Jake," she sighed and shook her head.

"I ... oh, fiddlesticks, I am a bit apprehensive," he confided, leaning toward her and leaning on one elbow. "But I must confess I worry about you and Dirk more than myself, you're the main targets."

"Jake..." She wasn't surprised, no, but even so it always brought a small rush of affection when he told her he was thinking of her ahead of himself, silly boy. He was the one going to be in trouble, in the thick of the crowd or near the back where the soldiers would emerge! "I'll be fine!"

The smile he brought to her face was genuine and she reached over to take his hand and hold it for a moment, similarly to how he had comforted her earlier, before returning to her pastry. Jake smiled back, not the usual bright grin but a soft, earnest smile, and then shifted to pick up his coffee mug and blow on it in an effort to bring it to a drinkable temperature more quickly.

A quiet heartbeat passed between them, just watching the sky and the market that lay in front of them. The square was crowded and only getting louder, but they almost seemed to be in a separate, secluded bubble of peace. It was almost surreal, Jane thought as she listened to the soft chirping of a bird or two perched in a tree near the café and the distant _bong, bong, bong_ of the clock tower chiming. This beautiful day, just like any other, might be the one on which she died, or on which her life changed forever, if they were captured, or on which things just remained normal and never realized that potential. She didn't try to fool herself and say they were going to overthrow the regime today; they would need more organization, more support, for that, but perhaps today they could at least try and gain more rights, or more recognition to get that support. It was all about publicity, but that was a dangerous game.

But she pushed those thoughts away and watched the clouds drift by for another moment. The strawberry and cream pastry was a bit too sweet for her tastes; they must have drizzled too much honey on it when using that amount of cream. And it could have used a touch more vanilla. But overall, it was a good pastry, and this was a good bakery.

Using the extra fork she had procured for this very purpose, Jane cut a piece of it and held it out to Jake. "Want some?"

He accepted, face lighting up as always when presented with sweets. She laughed lightly, handing him the fork and moving the plate between them and scooting a bit closer on the bench.

"And you can have coffee, if you would like some," Jake shifted the mug to her, but she wrinkled her nose at it.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You drink that stuff with no cream, I'll never understand how."

He laughed. "It is an acquired taste, I suppose."

"On the other hand," she said lightly, "pastries are universally delicious, because they are sweet and not disgustingly _bitter_."

"Yes, they are," he agreed, taking another piece. "Yours are better, though. Perhaps because you are also just that sweet?"

"You two are seriously _adorable_," a voice giggled behind them, and both jumped.

Roxy stood hand in hand with Dirk, both silhouetted by the reflection of the sunlight on the shop windows. Her free hand was lifted in a casual wave as she and Dirk walked around the table to slide into the bench on the opposite side, ruffling Jane's hair as she passed.

"Roxy," Jane teasingly complained. "Don't scare me like that! And good morning, Dirk."

"Mornin'," he nodded. "I hope no one minds me swiping half of that coffee." Even so, he waited until Jake nodded to seize the cup, taking a large gulp of it. Jane cringed, and Jake laughed at her.

"He didn't make his morning coffee because he overslept," Roxy playfully elbowed Dirk. "Something about last-minute robotics homework that he forgot about until last night."

"Did you finish?" Jane asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I did. Not until like five hours ago, though."

"Dirk!" she scolded. "Did you get any sleep at all?"

"About four hours, don't worry," he placated, rubbing his eyes. "I still remember my speech and also the way back to my house, so I'm pretty sure we're fine."

"After this, you're going straight to bed," she sniffed. Roxy laughed again.

"Janey," she cut in, "I have no doubt Dirk will be in excellent care, so I don't need to worry about him. That frees me up to worry about other things, like whether I can have some of those strawberries."

"Yes, Roxy," Jane laughed, pushing the plate to her. "And you too, Dirk. Maybe you need some sugar as well."

Not long after that there remained nothing but crumbs on the plate. Jake fed Jane the last bite and just like that, the leisurely snacking and talking was over. In under an hour, their rally would begin. It seemed to sink in then, and the laughter abruptly drained away as if a plug had been pulled.

"So," Roxy finally said. "Looks like this is it, then?"

"So it is," Jake nodded. "Shall we begin?"

"Let's," Dirk said resolutely, and stood. The four of them left the café's fenced-off patio and began to take what, to any who knew less, appeared to be a casual stroll among friends—a group that in other locations might have stuck out for its odd composition of mingling class members, but here in a mixed market square was less than significant. They first checked to see if there was any blockage along their preferred escape streets, or any significant troop gatherings, and then meandered along near the stage to check for possible booby traps and to make sure all that was needed was set up—notably the small furniture maze in the back room that could provide priceless extra seconds to escape if needed—before they retired to the center of the square, sitting on the low edge of the fountain there.

Only a few minutes of peace remained, but they were not very peaceful but rather filled with apprehension. Jane found herself sidling over to Roxy to just sigh with frustrated tension and let herself heavily lean into the other girl, who sympathetically petted her hair.

"Come on, Janey, it'll be fine!" she said with a small smile. "Stop worrying so much!"

"I know, I know, I know," Jane groaned. "Dirk, are you this nervous or is it just me?"

"I think he's too tired to care," Roxy laughed teasingly. She leaned back and trailed her fingers in the water before lifting them out to flick the shining drops at Dirk, who responded in kind.

"Yeah, she's kind of right about that," he said with a trace of sheepishness as he wiped his wet hand on his shirt.

"Next time do your homework on time," Jane admonished again. "Was it because you spent too much time on this?"

"Probably."

"Well, that's a pretty pickle and no mistake!" Jake shook his head. "But we will have to debate your sleeping schedule later, I believe. It's showtime!"

* * *

Roxy Lalonde knew many things. She knew exactly how to modify an appearifier's settings to account for temporal variables, she knew what the code of law stated was legal and wasn't, she knew exactly how a drink should or shouldn't taste. She also knew that there were things she was good at, like biology, and things she was less good at, like resisting the appeal of fluffy adorable little cats.

But she was very good at being unnoticed, and she knew that, too.

It was due to this ability that she trusted in herself, after telling Jake, to quietly slip up the road away from the main rally. This particular avenue was the same one the soldiers had emerged from last time, and if they were coming again she wanted to be ready. She had a communicator, Jake had another. If she saw something up here, he was a button press away, and then everyone would know to get out again.

Still, she thought with a wry grin, it was flattering to know that they had enough attention to even gain the notice of the armies of the Empress.

Though that had an unfortunate ability to throw a wrench into things.

Either way, she was going to scout around and see if she couldn't detect the soldiers _before _they got to the square this time.

A sharp pain exploded in her toe and stifling a yelp she looked down to see a rock, which apparently she had stubbed it on. _Ow. _

Then, suddenly, she noticed something. Holy shit, she couldn't see her foot! It was _right there_, she could feel it and everything—it hurt like hell after all, stubbed toes were the absolute worst!—but she couldn't see it!

"Oh. My. God." The words were uttered softly, and then she looked at the rest of herself, or tried to. No such luck, however, she still wasn't there! But she was?

Lifting a hand in front of her face, Roxy wiggled her fingers. Still no sign of them... She knew exactly where her body was, but there was no visible evidence she was there. It was the oddest thing! And it could get to be a hassle; what if she needed to do precision work but she couldn't see her hands to do it?

"Come on, self, figure this one out! Why the heck am I invisible in the first place?" she asked her invisible hands. A few minutes of staring at the space where they ought to be and some intense concentration brought a faint, dark shimmer around the edges of her fingers that spread down her arms, and that was the extent of her visibility. It cast no shadow when she experimentally moved her foot, which told her that it was only something she could see.

This was definitely _weird as hell._

But she supposed with a smirk that it would be useful for her scouting duties, and continued to steal down the road.

* * *

Jane smiled broadly with satisfaction as she watched Dirk stride across the stage, passion infusing his voice and his movements just like it always did. She was retreating to the back for now, having said her part of this section of the speeches they'd prepared—with the way it was set up, both of them would speak for an almost equal amount of time, but now it was Dirk's turn. Reaching up, she adjusted the knot in the ribbon holding her mask in place, wishing for the umpteenth time that she could still have been wearing glasses, the new glasses Roxy had gifted her with the night before, so that she could clearly see the goings-on, but alas the mask had no room for the lenses.

Perhaps she could also start a company that made masks for people with glasses. There was a thought.

Now that she was on the stage, though, and everything was going smoothly and well and was just so dang _exciting_, the fluttery, scared nerves that Jake had helped quell earlier had almost completely melted away to be replaced by the high excited flickers of anticipation, of the feeling of doing something that was actually useful. It was a rather rewarding feeling, to be sure.

Her eyes swept over the blurry crowd. Somewhere in the back was Jake, and possibly Roxy—those two had a habit of improvising their locations based on crowd behavior and things they saw, usually with Jake staying in place and Roxy drifting about. They were around somewhere, though.

There was a niggling voice in the back of her mind telling her not to be too confident here, because as Roxy had said there was no chance after last time that they _wouldn't _be attacked, but she didn't want to listen to it. Was it so wrong to want to enjoy the fact that they were making a change? Maybe so, if it got people hurt, but she did want to allow herself that little joy even still. But... people were more important.

The feelings of exhilaration didn't drain away, but her focus did sharpen. Dirk was, of course, caught up in his own enthusiasm as he preached to the crowd. "And even now, we worry that this gathering will be attacked. And do you know why? It is because she _fears our power_!" he called, voice ringing. Jane smiled again with pride as she watched him. He was an amazing speaker, especially considering he was running on so little sleep!

The crowd was also restless, shouting with him or calling out and booing the reign of the Condensce. "Down with the so-called empress!" someone called, and more voices joined in the clamor until Dirk hushed them by beginning another riveting call to action. Jane turned her attention back to trying to spot points of interest in the back of the crowd, like Jake and Roxy.

Neither of them seemed to be visible, which she assumed was a good thing. She and Dirk had agreed—whoever wasn't speaking at the immediate moment had to be watching for the makeshift flag-banner-whatever-it-was that would alert them to the need to flee.

Well, she was watching, and her blue eyes scanned the crowd back and forth and back again, but there was no sign of it. That was excellent; the rally had only been underway for almost an hour. The speeches had the potential to last for over four hours, plus improvisation could always happen, but she didn't really think they would have that much time. But as much as they could get was definitely good.

And it was her turn now. Taking a deep breath, Jane stepped forward.

* * *

No soldiers here, no soldiers there... surely they had realized there was kind of a big rally happening in a market square? Roxy was beginning to become suspicious again. She had stopped to look in a store window; sure enough, her reflection wasn't there. It had been a bit difficult to dodge a group of people who seemed absolutely determined to just walk through her, but she'd managed without them noticing. But now she was far enough from the rally that it was ridiculous that there were no soldiers!

It was making her worry that they might be coming from another angle; surely at least their scouts would have been visible at a much closer distance, if they were going to invade again. And there was no doubt in her mind that they were; it would be bad for the Batterwitch's image if they didn't now that they had already made it clear at the first major rally that they were both aware and in opposition to their movement. Obviously.

The well-oiled wheels of her mind began to turn analytically. Why would there be no soldiers? When she examined a map it became clear that this was the most direct route from their barracks to the market square, and also the one with widest streets for easier access and ability to crush—

Oh.

Oh _shit._

The Batterwitch was a lot of things, but she wasn't _stupid._ Roxy was willing to bet that she figured the resistance would have a scout on this road! Dumb, dumb, dumb, how could she not have thought about this before she went and wasted time scouting up here?

Her newfound invisibility ought to come in handy, however the hell it even worked. Taking a deep breath to stabilize her nerves, she began to carefully scale the side of an uneven brick building, between the wall and the chimney corner. A scraped knee and two near-falls coupled with much muttered swearing later she stood on the roof, looking around the nearby streets.

No soldiers anywhere? Even on the shadier thoroughfares and the less obvious ones? That was surprising—oh, there was a bannerman proudly displaying his standard.

Well, fuck.

Her eyes flicked down to the rickety structure she was standing on. Biting her lip, Roxy edged a foot onto the roof away from the chimney. When it held, she stepped forth on the top beam, and when that too held, she began to lightly run across the rooftops, heading closer and closer to the site of her sighting (wow, that rhymed, how funny her thoughts were!) of the bannerman. She needed to see if they were marching or not, how many they were, and also if they had any pertinent information that an invisible girl might casually overhear.

* * *

Jake English was quite sure he might have been hallucinating.

Either that, or his flag was trying to rip itself out of its hand of its own volition.

Jake English was very confused. "I say, what the hell is this?" he asked the air that was tryig to steal the flag.

"Jakey!" A hand smacked his arm, but no one was standing there. And it sounded like... Roxy?

Jake English was very, _very _confused.

"Roxy?" he asked bemusedly. "Where are you?" He turned about in a circle, sweeping the crowd for any evidence of her, but there was none. "Roxy, this is not funny, it is a serious matter. Where are you?"

"Right here!" her voice exclaimed from his left side. A body latched onto his left arm, but when he whipped around to see, there was no one there. Yet he could still feel her weight and the coolness of her hands.

"What," he said, "the _hell_."

"Oh, fuck!" she suddenly cried with agitation. "I don't know how to come back! I somehow turned myself invisible and that was helpful and everything, but I don't know how to come back!"

"Roxy? Roxy, calm down, I'm sure you can do it, just focus," Jake attempted to soothe her, which was a bit difficult considering that he didn't know where to look other than the general area on his left side.

"But wait, that doesn't matter," she continued, and he assumed she was shaking her head by the fact that her hair was brushing his arm. "The soldiers are coming, but from the street we originally planned to run from. So slight change of plans, follow me as soon as we evacuate. Which needs to be now."

That said, invisible hands took the flagpole from his now unresisting hands and swept it upright. "Tell me when they notice, tall boy," Roxy's voice said as she began to wave it back and forth. Jake nodded and peered forward, eyes pressed to the stage, and hoped that no one would get hurt.

* * *

Dirk was the one who first saw the flag. He was watching Jane speak animatedly, her hands gesturing unconsciously as impassioned words flowed from her effortlessly, and smiling ever so slightly with pride. It wasn't like he was being cocky—he knew there was definitely still a huge element of risk and that it was possible for them to lose—but on a personal level, he was quite proud of Jane for coming out of her shell so much. Honestly, she shone in the spotlight... until a waving flash of red caught his attention.

Thinking fast, he stepped forward as soon as Jane paused for breath, grabbing her hand. "The soldiers of our treacherous empress are coming for us now, my fellow citizens," he called. "Even now, they tell us that they fear our power, because they see it as a threat and they want to make us fall! I ask you to not be afraid of them, because together, we are stronger than they can ever hope to be. In twelve days, it is a national holiday! We will march on that day and show her that we _all _will not rest until there is change. In the Grand Square in twelve days, all of us together! We will rise!"

"Di—_shades_," Jane hissed in his ear. "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, merely tightening his grip on her arm and yanking her back, off the stage.

"Dirk!" she breathed again, her hands going to her hips. "March? Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

Dirk offered her a grin. "I think we can do it. It's a start! Don't you see, she's taking us seriously. We need to press demands. But come on, I saw the flag, we have to go."

Each of them slung a bag over his or her shoulder, disguises slipped off and regular clothes visible again. Holding hands firmly, they edged into the crowd, which was again starting to stampede as the soldiers rode in from the back. For a moment, Dirk felt a jolt of anxiety—that wasn't how the plan had been made, had Jake and Roxy been taken? That was their road—but it was quickly buried by his concern for himself and Jane.

Unlike his gentler companion, Dirk had few qualms about elbowing his way through the crowd and just tugged Jane along in his wake, though she dodged and wove through the sea of people rather than smacking at them when they didn't part. They soon reached the edges of the throng in this fashion, and both breathing hard, they fled through the streets into the upper districts.

Reaching Dirk's house was no hassle at all; all it required was a change in body language. Both Dirk and Jane were fairly well-versed in the art of making people see what they wanted to see, though Jane was more so than he was. It was her idea to have them walk together as a bubbly, nondescript couple, rather than the furtive, sneaking pair the escaping leaders of a revolution would look like. After all, as she explained to him, people saw what they wanted. And the escaping leaders of a revolutionary movement would definitely not be attracting attention of any sort, in most people's minds.

He had to admit, it was a clever scheme.

So it was that Jane was walking next to him, hand in hand, and giggling as she plucked a flower from one of the few decorative pots along the road. She twirled around, laughing, and reached up to tuck it into his hair, clapping her hands slightly. "There!" she exclaimed brightly. "That's so cute!"

"You're the cute one," he teased and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leaning in for a moment. A middle-aged woman passing them on the sidewalk smiled at them both.

The act continued until they were well away from the market square, when they gradually dropped it and returned to a more normal state of calm, acknowledged affection rather than blatant displays thereof. Luckily, the apartment Dirk stayed in was relatively nearby and not a ridiculously long walk, so they arrived in a fair amount of time. As promised, Jane sent him to bed immediately, even going so far as to pointedly remove the toolbox from the bedroom to ensure there would be no robotics going on.

After that, she set about using the meager ingredients contained by his kitchen to make as lovely a dinner as she could manage for the two of them. It wasn't much, just a stew, but it was definitely better than the instant ... whatever it was in the cabinet nearby.

While the stew cooled to a more edible temperature, she sat and thought about Jake and Roxy before she went to wake Dirk for dinner. Hopefully they had made it out, too.

And across the city, Jake and Roxy, who was (after some difficulty, swearing, and a broken plate or two) visible again, were curled on Jane's couch, eating bread and broth—leftovers from the previous night—and questioning the same thing.

It was a good dinner, on both sides, but merriment was sadly lacking, replaced by worry until communications finally came through—"We're okay, are you?" and "Yes, we're fine, good night!"—and followed promptly by an exhausted, blissful slumber. Between two worlds, four dreamers wondered what the coming weeks would bring.

* * *

_AN: Cool, so as I write this it's about two in the morning. I've been piecing this together for the last two weeks! I'm still not quite done traveling, I'll be home in a few days, so the next chapter is still just currently an outline and not much else, but have this almost 5000-word monster. I have to say, I think I hate writing rallies! There's so much going on! I worry about leaving things out, haha. _

_LordPeanut - first of all, I mistyped that as LordWalnut. Not sure why. Perhaps the two in the morning thing. Anyway, heh heh heh... yeah, have fun with next chapter. It's so close to the point I'm excited about :D and yeah, she's still in there! That's the part about crockertier that terrifies me, like she's still in her body but it's so perverted and wrong that her actions aren't actually her own even though her usual self is just... trapped in her own body and can just see herself doing awful things but is powerless. XD I'm not a fan of mind control, it totally freaks me out! But it's so fun to write and play with because all the angst._

_Snowy - Heh, yeah, there probably were too many of those... I hope I didn't do it again, but I've reread this so many times it's just all running together in my head. Oops. Anyway, thank you so much as usual! I am seriously so happy you like the story. _

_Now good night from me, and thank you for reading, everyone! _


	11. Chapter 11: Mages

A child, shrieking with laughter and wearing ribbons in her brown hair, ran by Jane, brushing her skirt. "Sorry!" she called over her shoulder, giggling as another young girl, perhaps her sister, raced after.

Jane laughed at them both. "No problem!" They were cute, she thought. It was nice to see people being happy, even down here in the lower districts. Fleetingly, her mind floated to the dark districts, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away, stuffing them into the furthest corner of her memory. It wouldn't do to go back there. The memory of the strange men who had called her a mage drifted forth again, and suddenly the sun felt a bit colder. A finger of dread trailed down her spine, and she shuddered lightly before pulling herself back to the present.

She was in the marketplace and she was shopping, and she was _not _about to get found out for being a mage.

Jane raised her chin just ever so slightly and straightened her back. She would not let fear keep her from buying groceries, that would just be silly! No, no, she would go buy sugar, milk, and eggs, and some ribbon and a bit of cloth to patch up an old dress, and then perhaps some berries, and she would go home. No big deal.

Nonetheless, she did wish Jake were with her, just a bit. Maybe she'd just gotten used to having him around for the past few weeks, but it just felt odd now that she was out and about without him. It wasn't like he had moved out yet, he was just working late today while she did the shopping. She would see him at dinner. But being alone in the markets near eveningtime was always slightly unnerving, no matter how long one had been there. Luckily, it was only late afternoon, and the really unsettling, unsavory characters still lurked in the shadows.

She shifted her grip on the twine basket in her hands as the mother of the two children hurried past, holding each in one hand. "Did you apologize to this young lady?" she asked them sternly, stopping in front of Jane before doing a double-take. "Oh, hello, Jane!"

It was her old neighbor from several years ago. Jane recalled that she had had two small children, twins, before moving out, and with a jolt realized that those two twins had grown up into these little girls. "Good evening, Miss Diarre!" she replied with a sunny smile. "It's nice to see you again!"

Diarre beamed at her. "Very nice to see you as well, Jane. Still as charming and sweet as ever, I see. How have you been?"

"Quite well, quite well," Jane shrugged slightly, still smiling. "I'm just doing the week's groceries right now. What about yourself? I see the kids have gotten larger."

The older woman laughed. "Yes, yes they have! See, children," she admonished the squirming girls, who must have seen the pastries in the baker's window, "you should learn to be good young ladies like Miss Jane here, or else Lord English might come get you!"

Jane laughed at that. The two girls paused, looked at each other, then shook their heads petulantly.

"We would just prank the demon prince so bad he wouldn't want us in his dungeon anymore!" one of them said, her sister nodding along. Diarre shook her head and sighed.

"The demon prince is on the prowl again, they say," she attempted again. "You can't get worse than him."

"Let me tell you a secret," Jane offered, kneeling so that she was on their height. "Pranks are wonderful things, and I am sure you could outprank Lord English any day, but all pranksters agree to a code of ethics," she winked conspiratorially. "In order to be a good prankster, you must never prank your mother more than once a month."

The girls stared up at her in awe as she straightened with a demure smile.

"Miss Jane pranks people?" the one on the right asked.

Jane winked again. "Only responsibly!"

They nodded resolutely. "What else is there in the prankster code of ethics?" the one on the left wanted to know.

"I'll have to tell you another time," Jane said quickly. "Good pranksters also never reveal everything at once. Usually."

Diarre laughed. "Thank you, Janey dear. If I had to wake up to another ruined pie, I might just scream!"

Jane winced in sympathy. "Oh, the pies, that is unfortunate. Pies are much better to eat, for the most part."

"For the most part?" Diarre echoed, her eyes twinkling. "Now, now, don't make me remind you to be wary of Lord English too! I was just thinking you would be a good role model for these twin terrors," she affectionately squeezed the two girls, who giggled.

A laugh bubbled out of Jane. "But really, I'm sure the demon prince has more important souls to collect than mine!"

Diarre chuckled. "That is probably true. Well, I'll leave you to your shopping, dear, as we ought to be getting home, but remember, you're always welcome to drop by! I still live in the same apartment block."

Jane nodded quickly. "Of course, I'd love to! Maybe we can do dinner sometime, that would be nice."

The older woman smiled serenely. "I look forward to it, Jane. Good night."

She waved at the little girls until the crowd swallowed them, and then returned to her shopping list. Right, sugar was first, then cloth and ribbon.

The meeting was going to be in about two hours, so she had to finish up the groceries and get home soon. A small meal would be sufficient, since they could also have food during the meeting—which, most likely, would just be a celebratory get-together where they all just enjoyed each other's company—so she didn't need to worry about cooking, but time was still a priority.

The line at the fabric store was a bit long, and that ate up a good deal of the hour she had alloted herself for shopping. But the milk and eggs were both procured very quickly, so it approximately evened out, and she was back in the apartment about an hour before the rally. Dinner would take around fifteen or twenty minutes to prepare, during which time Jake should arrive, and then they could walk together to the meeting-place, and arrive about at the hour mark.

Jane was quite pleased with her timekeeping skills, because it added up quite perfectly! Humming an old song her father had sometimes sung to her, she began to cook a simple soup, chopping a few vegetables and tossing in some cheese for good measure. As the water came to a rolling boil, she added a bit of this and a pinch of that in a recipe that was half from the heart and half made up on the spot. Somehow she always made those recipes work.

Just as she had predicted, as she removed the pot from the stove Jake entered the apartment.

"Good evening, Jane," he greeted amiably, slumping into a chair tiredly. Jane gave him a sympathetic look.

"Good evening. You look knackered!"

"Believe me, do I feel it, too," he groaned. "How long until we have to leave?"

"About twenty minutes or so," she smiled. Gathering two bowls of steaming soup, she placed a spoon in each and walked over to the table, placing both on the wood and then standing behind Jake to rub his shoulders soothingly. "Careful, it's hot," she warned.

He sighed and leaned his head against her for a moment, prompting a giggle from above. "Shucks, I really am tired," he complained. "I don't suppose you have coffee around here, Jane?"

"Surprisingly, yes, I do," she smiled down at him. "Just bought it today, actually. I figured you'd be this tired. Want me to go make some before we leave?"

"Yes, please." With another sigh, he sat up straight and began to blow on the soup in his spoon as she moved back to the stove to make the coffee.

Once it was ready, she rejoined him at the table. "How was work today, then?"

"Tiring," he offered with a laugh. "We did a lot of metalworking today, and the entire shop was ridiculously hot. I prefer carpentry to smithing, to be quite frank."

Jane hummed sympathetically. "That sounds difficult. What were you making, do you know?"

"A bunch of machine parts," Jake sighed. "I'm pretty sure you can guess what for." More military machines, that was. It seemed that the Batterwitch was preparing for war, but with who? No one was really sure, but either way, she was pushing her manufacturing industry much harder than usual.

"Yeah..." she bit her lip. It was unsettling, but who knew what to do about it? Jane sincerely hoped that they weren't for use against the revolution... they were trying to make the world better, not start a war! It was as if the possibility of that just hit her, because she really had always thought that somehow, somehow the revolution would be peaceful and the Empress would just listen to reason and give way to the will of the people. But would she?

Jake pulled her from that dismal train of thought. "I say, Jane, this soup is amazing! What did you put in it?"

She laughed softly. "Vegetables, a bit of cheese, some milk, um... oh, nutmeg and cinnamon, just a hint, for that warmth. Salt, pepper. And I think that's it? I don't really remember."

"Well, I think you should make it again tomorrow night, because it is superb," he winked, taking another gulp.

"I would tell you to slow down and not burn yourself, but we do have to leave soon," she chuckled.

Jake was about to reply when there was a knock at the door. Both exchanged glances of mild mystification as Jane rose to answer it—who would be calling on them at this time?

From Jane's bedroom, a little rabbit-shaped robot emerged, blinking red.

"Lil Seb?" she wondered aloud. The robot scanned the room, then hid behind the bookshelf near the door. That was odd, and mildly alarming.

Jake, too, now rose, following Jane but standing out of sight of the doorway, pulling a pistol from its holster silently.

The knock came again, rap-rap-rap, very official-sounding. Jane bit her lip and carefully pulled the door open enough to stick her head out.

To her dismay and fright, there were two officials standing there, wearing the black and fuschia of the Witch and dressed in robes of the Mage's College that she ran. Jane felt her blood run cold.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she said politely, hoping that her voice wasn't shaking or betraying the fact that on the inside she felt like gelatin. "Is there something I can help you with?"

One of them cleared his throat, stepping forward ever so slightly. Jane unconsciously backed away the same amount, still hiding behind the door. "Good evening, miss," he said in a smooth, baritone voice. "As I am sure you recognize the institution from which we come, I shan't go into that. Instead, let me simply arrive to the point of this visit, bluntly. Come, come, don't stand in there like that," he shook his head patronizingly, and seizing her wrist yanked her out onto the concrete walkway outside her third story apartment. Jane yelped in surprise and pain from the vicelike grip on her wrist. Behind her, Jake lunged forward, but was stopped when he almost tripped over Lil Seb, who apparently had the same idea. Both froze to listen in.

"Much better, now we're face-to-face," he continued, completely ignoring the way she rubbed her wrist or started to edge back inside. It was completely abandoned outside, as everyone feared the officials but _especially _the mage officials. No one would come to help her, that was for sure. "You are Jane Crocker, correct?"

"I—yes," she murmured. There was no point in denying her name, plenty of people could corroborate that piece of evidence.

"We have heard that you might have the gift of healing magic," he smirked. Jane felt a queasy fist of anxiety seize her stomach. "Is this true?"

"I—no, it's not," she shook her head, forcing a demure laugh. "Did you hear that from someone in the dark districts? You see, sometimes I go down there to hand out medical supplies and food. Perhaps the silly dears down there thought that was healing magic."

The man considered her for a moment. Jane felt her heart leap—perhaps he might truly believe her and leave her alone!

His companion shattered that illusion. "I think," he started in a soft voice, "you're—" suddenly he lunged at her, pinning her against the brick wall with a long knife threateningly held in one hand that was far too close to her throat than she would have liked. "Lying!"

Lil Seb flew out of the door and at the man, who with an almost dismissive wave sliced straight through the robot with that wickedly sharp knife. Jane let out a cry as the two pieces of bisected rabbit fell to the pavement with a clank.

"You have a personalized protector bot," the first one mused. "I think there's more to you than meets the eye, Miss Crocker."

Jane's heart was pounding, but she still shook her head. "I—really, I promise you—I'm not a mage, I'm sorry! Please, let me go!"

"Somehow, I'm disinclined to believe that," the second one said, bringing the knife closer to her again. The point was just under her chin, she could feel it. It was good that her mouth was too dry to swallow, because if she had it would have drawn blood.

"How am I supposed to make you believe me?" she breathed, hardly daring to move.

"Excuse me," Jake's voice cut in. Jane felt her stomach drop. No, no, _no, what was he doing out here when he should have stayed safe inside?!_ "I think you need to unhand the lady, now."

Amazingly, the dagger removed itself from her throat, and the man pinning her bodily to the wall stepped back. When she looked, she could still see the fizzling circuits from her poor robot on the ground, and... and Jake, holding twin pistols out at the two men.

"Jake," she whispered, shaking her head. What was he doing?!

"A friend, over for dinner...?" the first man mused, then returned to her with the same oily smirk. "Well, Miss Crocker," he said smoothly, "I do believe we have found a way to see whether you are truly a healer or not."

And that was when he drew a dagger from his boot as fast as lightning, and plunged it deep into Jake's stomach.

* * *

_AN: Many thanks to my moirail for proofreading this for me, because I was so out of it. Aaand yes, here's what I was excited about! Or part of it, anyway. I'm sick and just lying in bed, so who knows when the next chapter will actually be coherent... I know, I know, I'm awful for leaving you with this ending! I'll try and un-cliffhanger-ify it soon, promise. _

_LordPeanut - uhhh... yeah you were probably right about that hahaha! Here is (the start of) the terror and misfortune. :D Still excited? I hope so! And yeah, she was 'focusing right' in a way, she'd never actually noticed her invisibility before but sometimes she did fade a bit out of sight, like when she thinks no one notices her because she's good at blending in but they actually literally can't see her. She's had the ability, she's just now learning to use it! Re- mind control: yes exactly! I feel like if used properly it's an awesome plot device, but man, I do not envy those characters!_

_Rouge (can I call you rouge?) - Thank you so much! I'm pretty sure it won't show up due to formatting but there is a heart there. Anyway, yeah, I still haven't decided on any ships to include, if any, but Jane and Jake are at the least best friends. The way it works in my mind is Jane met Roxy first, then a few years later Jake, and finally through them Dirk. But worry not about Jade, she'll be coming in with the beta kids in a few chapters!_


	12. Chapter 12: Blood

_Warning for a bit of blood. (Should be a bit obvious, but...) _

* * *

Jake let out a horrible gasp of surprise, looking down to see the long knife buried up to its hilt in his own body, then back to Jane almost uncomprehendingly. His hands began to tremble, and the pistols fell to the ground in a loud clatter that made Jane cringe as if someone was about to strike her.

Jane's hands were both clasped to her mouth, shock numbing her body and slowing her mind. "Jake..."

The man sighed. Almost impatiently, he abruptly gave the knife a sharp twist.

Jake let out a sharp cry of pain, recoiling. Blood was beginning to seep through the fabric of his green shirt, staining the fabric a dark maroon as it spread. The agent yanked his knife out of Jake's flesh, and that was when the blood began spurting out like an awful fountain.

Jane screamed.

Jake shook his head, sinking to his knees. "I..." he started, but gasped out a wheeze of pain instead of finishing the thought. His blood was slowly—but much too quickly at the same time—gathering into a pool on the concrete.

"Go ahead, then, _Miss Crocker_," the second man said jovially, as if delighting in their anguish and pain. "I'm sure you realize he'll die without a healer."

Her thoughts were a blur of panic and fear, with a dash of anxiety for good measure. She couldn't think straight, could only focus on the here and now and that Jake was dying, his blood was everywhere and these men were so cavalier about it and it didn't matter if she was found out if only she could save Jake! Jake, Jake was bleeding out in front of her, there was blood on her hands there was blood on the ground there was blood mingling with the pieces of Lil Seb, so much blood.

"I... Jake," she sobbed, clasping his hand between both of hers. He attempted to give her a reassuring smile, and her heart broke into a million pieces that were easily scattered far and wide.

It was as if the world was a frightening whirl of too many thoughts, most of them dark and sad and tormented and afraid, and she couldn't pick any one to focus on. Each led to the next and made it worse, so that she wasn't even aware of screaming again until she started to wonder who was screaming. Her breaths were shallow and her heart was pounding, her core a roiling pit of queasy terror.

"We do not have all night," the first man said impatiently, kicking Jake with a booted foot as Jane crouched at his side, crying and trembling.

Her mind wouldn't cooperate, too confused and fearful, but she took a deep breath and squeezed his hand, then carefully, gently lowered it to the pavement and placed her palms over the wound. Never before had she attempted to heal an injury like this, and her heart pounded even more as she could _feel_ Jake's blood gushing out of him under her fingers. He was losing too much blood too fast...

...and the magic wasn't coming. Panicked, Jane tried to focus harder, groping inside herself to find the usual well of blue misty power that she drew upon, but her mind was still shocked and shaken and reeling and couldn't find it, couldn't connect to it! In shock she stumbled back, trying to find it in herself to breathe, to calm down, to do something, but she couldn't, and all she could do was clutch at Jake's hand and press on his wound and try not to faint because she felt like she couldn't _breathe_, she might scream.

"I can't!" she shrieked at the men. "I can't, I can't, I can't! I can't save him! Please, do something!"

"Try harder," the second one suggested sardonically, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "We can wait a little longer."

She didn't even care what they might do to her anymore, didn't care at all for her own safety or life. "I can't do anything!" she screamed, tears coursing down her face as she tried her best to see through all the blood that spattered her glasses. If she hadn't been pressing as hard as she could to the wound—it was killing her to hear Jake's choked, painful breaths, but it would kill him if she didn't (rather, it would kill him _faster_ than it already was)—she would have lunged for their throats, armed or not. How could they do this to him?

"Jake, please, stay with me," she begged him. His eyes were closed, breathing shallow. "Jake, Jake, please..." The pool of blood was growing, already soaking through the hem of her dress and coating her legs and feet, and more on her arms and hands. It would be a pain to wash out, she thought wildly, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "Jake, please, please, please, you can't just leave me like this, you promised," her breath hitched. _You can't die._

How long she stayed like that, trying to breathe, trying to find her magic but only panicking more when she couldn't keep a firm grasp on it enough to channel it and save Jake, all the while feeling more and more of his blood rush past her hands, she had no idea. It could have been seconds, minutes, maybe even over an hour—but eventually, there was a sigh.

"Very well, Miss Crocker. Unfortunately, it appears you indeed lack the capabilities of a healer," one of the men said. She didn't care which one anymore. "It is a ... _pity_ about your acquaintance. Perhaps, if you know the _actual _healer who lives in the area, you might save him. Otherwise, we're truly sorry." The words were about as true as Jane was a crow, or as true as she cared for what they said, which was very little at all.

"I hate you!" she screamed at them as they left. "I hate you!" The words were meaningless, wouldn't change anything, but gave her a feeling of strange vindictive satisfaction as she shrieked into the night.

Vaguely, she registered their cold, uncaring footsteps receding to the stairwell. It was as if a cloying cloth draped over her mouth was removed and she could breathe again, could think again.

"Jake? Can you hear me?" she breathed.

_Think_, Crocker, she told herself. He's been stabbed, he's losing blood, you have to act fast. Get it together!

He didn't respond save for a small moan, eyes still closed and face too pale. His heart was beating faster, because it was trying to get blood to his extremities, but it was just making him bleed more. She knew this was how wounds with heavy bleeding worked, knew how they could easily become lethal. It was just the matter of applying that knowledge.

She took a deep breath again, in and out. The hard ball of nervousness in her hadn't receded, but it was pushed back as her rational mind began to come forward, to work again. First of all, she had to get him back inside. Inside, she had cloth, to make bandages, and medicine. Inside she could probably make her magic cooperate again, because inside was familiar and comfortable, which seemed to make using magic easier.

Jake was tall, and Jake was heavy. This was going to be difficult.

Biting back another sob, Jane awkwardly leaned over her arms—still applying pressure to the wound—and kissed his cheek again. "Hang in there, okay? I'll fix this, I promise." And then, she got to work.

* * *

Roxy was lying on her back, sprawled on the couch with one foot propped on the armrest and fingers drumming against the cushions. "What time is it now?"

"It's still the same time it was when you asked me thirty seconds ago," Dirk replied drolly. "They're just running pretty damn late, apparently."

She sighed dramatically, flicking her fingers outward and watching the way the light reflected dully on her nails as she wiggled her fingers before dropping her hand back to the sofa with a thump. "I'm bored."

"No shit. I had no idea."

"Don't make me throw a pillow at you, Dirk." Roxy rolled over onto her stomach, propped up on an elbow, and held up a small embroidered cushion threateningly.

Dirk smirked at her from across the short coffee table on the other sofa. "Bring it on, Lalonde. Your pillows have nothing on my amazing skills."

She narrowed her eyes. "You might think so, but check this out!"

Nothing happened.

Roxy huffed, then laughed. "That was not supposed to not happen. Let me try that again. Check _this _out." This time, she vanished completely from sight, including her pillow. The indention on the couch where she was lying moved as she stood, but the stiff carpet gave less indication of her movement.

"Holy shit! Since when can you turn invisible?" Dirk exclaimed, sitting back in surprise. Out of nowhere, the pillow bopped him on the head. Invisible arms rested on his shoulders from behind, and Roxy blinked into view again, leaning over the back of the couch to smile at him with just a hint—okay, more than a mere hint—of smugness as she ruffled his hair, fading from view again as she did so.

"I don't know. I first did at the rally the other day! It was pretty awesome," she laughed. "Gave poor Jake quite a fright—hey!"

It was Dirk's turn to grin triumphantly, having suddenly twisted around to grab her around the waist—approximately, at least, guided by his guess of where she was standing, which had been accurate enough—and toss her onto the couch, where after a moment of half-visible flailing he pinned her and returned the light smack with the pillow. Roxy returned to full visibility to give him the full view of her pronounced, exaggerated pout as he let her sit up, and then burst into laughter again.

"Like I said," he grinned cockily, "your pillows have nothing on my skills."

"Maybe not right now, but..." her eyes suddenly widened as a thought hit her and she fell to the pillows again, laughing. "Oh my gosh Dirk, just wait until I tell Janey! Imagine the pranks we could pull on you and Jake now."

"I think I would prefer not to," he shook his head. "I'll have to be on my guard then."

"Where are they anyway?" Roxy complained again, shifting so she could lay her head on Dirk's knee. "It's not like them to be this late."

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said dryly. His fingers idly picked up a lock of her dark honey-colored hair and played with it.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, but the silence was shattered by an alarming-sounding _beep, beep, beep_ from Dirk's communicator. He immediately tensed, drawing it out. Roxy sat up, propped on one hand, looking at him.

She filed away the rather creative swears for later use when applicable and touched his shoulder. "Dirk. What's wrong?"

"I don't know but it is not good. Like, really fucking bad."

"What happened?" she frowned.

Dirk took a sharp breath, standing and holding out a hand impatiently. "Something destroyed Lil Seb, because I got a notification saying communications have been interrupted and I specifically built him so that communications circuits were all in the center. They would only be 'interrupted' if he was damaged very very severely. Come on, Lalonde, we're going."

Roxy was on her feet before he'd finished speaking, throwing on her coat and hood. Anxiety thrummed from every movement she made, from bouncing on her feet to the way she bit her lip and looked at the door.

Sword buckled to his side, he led the way through the convoluted tunnels to the lower district exits, but Roxy took the lead in which alleys to duck through and which avenues to take as they all but ran to Jane's apartment.

The building was within sight when a scream rang out in the night, from directly ahead. Neither could decipher the words, but with sinking hearts they recognized the voice.

"Jane," Roxy gasped, and grabbing Dirk's wrist she sprinted down the remainder of the street until she reached the stairwell.

Usually Roxy would complain about having to climb all the stairs to reach the seventh floor. Today, she practically flew up them, Dirk close behind, her heart pounding. Her knife was clutched in her stiff fingers, and as she relentlessly ran, her companion fell behind just slightly.

She rounded the corner, panting, and stopped dead at the sight—right outside Jane's door—of a huge, dark, red puddle of... of...

Dirk appeared just in time to catch her as she swayed, suddenly feeling sick. "Oh my god," she breathed. "Oh no, oh, oh..."

"Roxy," he said sharply, staring at the pool with a hint of distaste on his face but worry dancing in his eyes. Next to it, he saw the remnants of Lil Seb, cleanly sliced in two and now painted in some morbid fashion with ..._someone's_ blood. "Stop it. They probably..." The stoic façade slipped as he swallowed hard. "They probably need our help."

She shuddered, but nodded and squared her shoulders as she straightened and pulled away from him. "Yeah... oh my god, you're right." Stepping forward, she gingerly placed the toe of one boot, then the other as close to the edges of the blood as she could, leaning over to rap on the door. "Jane? Janey?" she called hesitantly.

There was no answer.

"We don't have time for this," Dirk muttered, one second before he kicked in the door.

The trail of blood continued inside, as if something—or someone—had been dragged across the floor. It didn't take much searching to find what; just in the entryway, Jake's limp form lay on the floor, Jane next to him surrounded by the misty glow of her healing magic. Her eyes were closed in tight concentration, her brow furrowed, and her hands pressed tightly to Jake. They were both covered in blood and neither appeared to notice the new arrivals, Jane deep in a trance and Jake apparently unconscious.

Roxy sucked in a breath again, wobbling just for a moment before she smartly turned on her heel and closed the door. No one walking by would see Jane's powers if she had anything to do with it, and thinking tactically like that allowed her to numb herself from what was in front of her, oh god, Jake, Jane—no, that was no help to them.

Dirk was standing in front of her, staring down at them both with a look of shock and horror on his face.

"Dirk," Roxy breathed, pointedly not looking at either of the two on the floor. He didn't respond. "Dirk," she repeated more urgently. He shook his head as if to throw off a fog and slowly turned to her.

"It wasn't supposed to be them that got hurt," he said, a note of bemused regret in his voice, which cracked and _oh god was Dirk Strider about to break down crying in front of her?_

Dropping her own knife to the floor, forgotten, Roxy pulled him into her arms, rubbing his back soothingly. He didn't resist, coming like a docile, lost little lamb seeking comfort. "Hush," she said. "It's not your fault."

He didn't say anything. Roxy figured he was probably blaming himself in his head anyway, and gave him a tight squeeze before she pulled away enough to hold him at arm's length and look him in the eye. "Dirk. It's not your fault," she repeated more emphatically. Somehow, her own shock and grief were easier to bury when she was comforting someone else.

"Now come on," she continued, holding his hands and stroking his knuckles with her thumbs. "I... I don't think we can really help Jane right now, but at least we can have clean bandages ready if she needs them. And we could probably start cleaning up all this..."

"All this blood," he finished hollowly. "Yeah. You're right."

"Dirk," she caught his wrist as he started to turn away. "Are you okay?"

"It doesn't really matter, but I'm fine," he replied. The stoic mask was back in place, and Roxy wondered just how much he had been hurting that she saw it slip to begin with.

"If you say so," she sighed, relinquishing him. It was a blatant lie, but he wasn't about to die from it, so she would let it go until things were closer to a semblance of normal.

Hesitantly, she allowed herself to look at Jane and Jake again. Jane, although smeared liberally in blood herself, didn't seem wounded, which was good at least. Unlike the usual way she healed, which only gave her fingertips the barest hint of a glow, whatever she was currently doing had made her entire body radiant, giving off a cool, clean aura that shimmered around her almost like water. It was probably an illusion, but it was nearly like her hair and clothes were gently floating like they would when immersed. She looked somewhere close to peaceful, until a closer examination that revealed the knit brow and the bitten lip, the dried tears that ran down her face.

Jake, meanwhile... Jake looked awful. His face was pale, his eyes closed in a way that spoke more of pain than of anything near peace, and his breaths were shallow. His green shirt was almost entirely maroon from bloodstains, and his two pistols lay on the floor near the door, in the blood that had been smeared there when Jane pulled him inside, presumably. He looked terrible, and she felt herself aching to try to do anything to help him.

When she tore her gaze from her two friends, Dirk was gone. A quick search revealed him to be in the kitchen, methodically—almost robotically—tearing strips from cloth to make bandages that he placed in a pot of boiling water. "Hey," he greeted shortly, not turning around.

"Hey," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around him from behind and resting her cheek against his shoulder for a moment. He was tense, she could feel it, but his shoulders sagged and he sighed.

"Roxy..."

"Don't sweat it," she assured, kissing his cheek before hugging him more tightly. "We'll work this out. Just... just talk to us, okay? Don't go fret on your own, don't blame yourself. We don't even know what happened!"

He was silent for a moment. "Alright. Fine."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good," she said in a small voice, withdrawing to take a rag from the cabinet she knew they were in. It would be a hard mess to clean up, both physically and mentally...

* * *

Jane wasn't sure exactly when she became aware of her surroundings again. At some point, the world started to include more than Jake and the blueness that she recognized as her own power. For example, there was the fact that there was not a huge bloody stain on the wooden floor of her apartment, or the fact that her door had a new lock, or the fact that the lights were on, the water was running in the bathroom, and there were foosteps behind her.

Slowly, with that feeling of dread building alongside the mounting confusion, she turned around...

...and saw Roxy Lalonde—where did she come from?—drop the wet towel in her hands to let out a shriek and lunge forward to engulf her in an embrace.

"Jane, Jane, Jane," she repeated with what sounded suspiciously like a swallowed sob in her voice. Her knees were against the hard wood and it was a bit uncomfortable, but she couldn't have cared less.

"Roxy...?" the bemused girl asked, leaning heavily against her companion. Dirk suddenly appeared, presumably summoned by Roxy's scream with his sword already half out of its sheath, but visibly relaxed at the sight he beheld instead.

"Hey, Jane," he greeted with an obviously forced, small smile, yet he hung back and didn't quite approach them.

Roxy, apparently, wasn't having that, because she disentangled herself from Jane to slide her arms around his waist and gently tug him to the place she had been kneeling in a moment prior. Both of them sat on either of Jane's sides as all three of them regarded Jake for a moment.

"I ... I think I patched him up," the dark-haired girl finally broke the silence haltingly. "But I don't know how well, I wish I had bandages..."

"Here," Roxy said with a flicker of a smile as she passed a stack of them to Jane. "We figured you would."

Jane took them wordlessly and just stared at the cloth strips in her hands for a moment. Finally she burst out, "I don't understand, when did you get here, how did you know...?"

Dirk finally spoke. "Lil Seb's communication feed disappeared. So I knew something was up." His voice was low, a bit rough and ragged. Roxy reached around Jane to rub his shoulder soothingly. Had they had some discussion that Jane wasn't aware of?

Either way, she pushed that thought aside in favor of pragmatic concerns. "Can you guys help me hold Jake so I can bind that properly?"

Taking Roxy's knife, she swallowed hard for a moment upon unintentionally recalling the way the light glinted on the edge of the agent's blade before it was driven deep into her friend's body, and then did her best to also push _that _memory aside so she could cut Jake's stained shirt away from him. Ignoring Roxy's soft exclamation and Dirk's sharp intake of breath, she tried to look at his wound like he was any other person, not one of the people she trusted with every ounce of her being and loved with every fiber of her soul.

The flesh looked barely healed, and she worried it might bleed easily, especially if—_when, _when he woke up and started moving around like she knew he would. So she would have to make sure the bandages were on tight enough that they would apply pressure to the wound, but not so tight that they were more painful than they had to be or that they restricted his breathing.

Carefully, she got her friends to hold him so that she could pass the cloth around his body and tie it off, making sure not to meet anyone's eyes and to only stare at the bandages. Finally, it was done. Sitting back on her heels, Jane blew out a breath before leaning on one hand over so she could carefully stroke Jake's hair from his forehead. "I think... I think he'll be okay," she finally said, still stroking his hair.

"Good," Roxy sighed, shoulders slumping in relief. "Janey... what _happened_?"

Jane bit her lip. "I... remember how I thought someone thought I was a mage?" she finally asked quietly. "Two guys from the Mages' College showed up, said they knew there was a healer around here, and when I said it wasn't me they—they stabbed Jake when he tried to protect me, and I, I couldn't—" she broke off abruptly to take a ragged breath, dashing sudden tears from her eyes and suddenly realizing that even though the apartment was much cleaner, she herself was still covered in her own sweat, dried blood, and tears. Jake's blood, to be precise, and that thought was enough to make another sob rise in her throat.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Dirk was the one to pull her close before Roxy did, resting his chin atop her head snugly. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I should have—"

Surprised, she pulled away to look him in the face, her hands still resting on his shoulders. "There's nothing that you should have or could have done, Dirk It wasn't your fault..."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him," Roxy muttered, sitting with Jake's head pillowed in her lap now as she trailed her fingers through his hair. His breathing was more deep and even now, and when she looked back, Jane figured he would probably wake soon. That was one less worry on her mind.

"It was mine," she added quietly. "Do you think he'll forgive me?"

There was a heartbeat of silence. "Jane," Roxy began after exchanging concerned glances with Dirk, "I don't think he'll think there's anything to be forgiven. I already told Dirk he'd better not beat himself up over somehow not being here to protect you guys, and now I'm going to tell you not to beat yourself up over knowing the future. You did what you thought was right. I won't say what's right and wrong, because I definitely do not have the place for that, but I will say one thing. You're a good person, Janey. I don't think he's going to be upset with you. Please don't cry?"

Dirk rubbed her back. "Jake is a lot of things, but he's not an idiot. We don't even know the exact incident that made them suspicious, so we can't say whether it was preventable or not. I'm pretty damn sure he won't hold a thing against you, and you shouldn't blame yourself."

"Neither should you," she retorted, but there was no bite in her voice as she leaned against him, her head resting against his shoulder. Dirk snorted.

"How about this: we all agree that everyone in this room is blameless, and pin the blame squarely on her stupidfaced Condescension?" Roxy proposed.

Jane actually found herself smiling at the remark. "I would be amenable to that."

"Me too. Looks like you got yourself a deal, Lalonde." Dirk ruffled Jane's hair and sat back, his hand resting over hers still.

After a moment, Jane rose. "I'm going to take a bath," she announced. "Oh, and thank you both for... scrubbing all that off. Um, I won't be too long!"

* * *

Later that night found everyone all cleaned and all tired. Three cups of hot chocolate were in various stages of being drunk, and three friends were exhaustedly slumping against each other on the couch.

"What time is it, anyway?" Jane asked, not really directed to anyone in particular.

"Late," Dirk shrugged, flicking his bangs back. "Time for sleeping. Time for not being awake. You know, so fucking late it's probably early."

Roxy chuckled. "He's probs right about that last bit at least," she shrugged. "But hey, at least we finished all this shit off."

"At least," Jane nodded, taking a large gulp of her hot chocolate and setting down the now-emptied mug. After a second, she shakily stood. "Before I fall asleep on you, I'm going to go check on Jake."

In her darkened bedroom, Jake lay quietly. His pulse was steady again, at least, and idly Jane wondered when he was going to wake up. It had been several hours already, what with all the washing and re-ordering of the apartment that had to go on. The dress she'd been wearing had even been scrubbed and hung to dry.

She sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand, stroking his fingers as she watched him and let her mind drift. Once or twice, she caught herself nearly falling asleep and shook herself awake. Sitting in the darkness of the bedroom really was tempting; perhaps she ought to just retire to the couch and go to sleep.

Jane was about to stand and leave the room when Jake's fingers twitched. Startled, she leaned over to see his face—oh, oh, oh, his eyelashes were fluttering, he was opening his eyes, he was waking up!

Jake blinked a few times, looking around the room before his gaze settled on her. Emerald green eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but just coughed instead.

"Oh, oh, sorry," she immediately turned to pick up a cup of water set on the bedside table for this very purpose. "You haven't really had much to drink in a while, here." Scooting up so that she could support his back and neck, she helped him to a half-sitting position and held the cup to his lips. A little bit of the water dripped onto his chin, but he drank most of it.

"Jane?" His voice was a bit hoarse and tired, she noted as she smiled tremulously down at him. His head was resting against her collarbone, and she tilted her chin down to press a kiss to his unruly dark hair.

"Yes," she blinked back sudden tears, putting the cup down to gently lower him back onto the pillows and hug him as tightly as she dared. "Yes, it's me."

He attempted to hug her back but winced slightly. This did not escape Jane's notice, and she hurriedly sat back, wagging a stern finger at him.

"You need to rest! Don't move too much, okay? I got really tired, I'm sorry—" she paused here to squeeze his hand between both of hers. "—so I'm going to have to finish healing you tomorrow."

"Are you alright?" he asked, shaking his head slightly as to push all that aside.

She blinked. "I'm fine, Jake." That was just like him, disregarding his own health in favor of making sure she was okay.

"Good." He squeezed her hand and gave her a semblance of the usual roguish grin, which quickly transformed into concern when her eyes watered and she buried her face in her hands. "Jane?"

"I'm sorry," she said in a muffled voice.

"For what?" he asked, bewildered. "Are you sure you're quite alright?"

Jane laughed softly through her unshed tears, wiping her eyes and smiling again before she lay down curled next to him, her arms loosely wrapped about him. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

He turned his head so that his temple rested against her shoulder, about to say something further when Dirk's voice rang out from the sitting room.

"Jane? Everything okay?"

"When did he...?" Jake wondered aloud, not bothering to finish the thought. Jane shook her head.

"Not too long after you ... you went unconscious. Roxy's here too," she replied, raising her voice to call back, "He's awake!"

Immediately there was a thump and the sounds of a minor scuffle. "Roxy, either wake up or get off me," was heard, as well as "Nooo, pillow don't leave me," and a muttered few of Dirk's brand of signature creative oaths. Finally, Dirk appeared in the doorway, trailed by a drowsy Roxy, who immediately brightened upon realizing Jake was indeed alert.

"Good morning," the bedridden boy greeted.

"Fuck you, English, it is not morning," Dirk grumbled in response as he sat on the opposite side of the bed. Softening, he looked over to his friend's face. "Nice to see you conscious."

"Nice to be conscious," Jake replied dryly. Roxy ambled over and squeezed onto the edge of the bed as well, leaning on Jane.

"Hi Jake," she waved lazily. "How are you?"

"Been better," he said cheerfully. "A bit confused, too, and tired.'

"Go to sleep then!" Jane chuckled, stroking his hair. "It is ridiculously late."

"I agree with this statement," Roxy piped up. "Sleep sounds excellent. Close those peepers, Jakey-boy, and I will do the same."

Jake started to laugh, then stiffened, an expression of pain crossing his face. "Don't make me laugh!" he complained. Roxy patted his hand in apology.

"I'm happy you're okay," she added, yawning. "It was a bit worrisome when we walked in."

Dirk snorted. "A bit."

Jake shook his head slightly. "How did you know something was wrong in the first place?"

"The robot," Dirk replied. "Communications shouldn't have been terminated."

"Oh," was all Jake had to say in response. A moment later he sighed and settled back against his pillow. "Not to be rude and cut the party short or anything, but I am awfully knackered..."

"Me too," Roxy gave him a grin. "See you in the morning—oh for fuck's sake is that the beginnings of dawn outside the window?" she frowned at the offending light.

"Oh, hell no," Dirk groaned. "Fuck everything, I'm skipping class tomorrow—_today_." He stood. "Good _morning_, bro. I'm out." And with that, he marched back to the couch.

"That is probably a good idea," Jane agreed after a moment. "We should probably sleep too."

"Yes, yes we should," Roxy concurred. "Good night, Jake." She squeezed his hand again before standing and stretching widely.

"Good night," Jane told him. "Or morning, whichver." Leaning down, she kissed his forehead and stood to join Roxy.

"Well, it'll be an adventure to try and squeeze all of us onto a couch," Roxy laughed as they both started to walk away.

"Just you and Dirk," Jane shook her head. "I have work to go to..." She sighed and ran a hand through her cropped curls.

"Oh no you don't," Roxy countered. "You can call in sick or something today. He's not going anywhere, and neither are you."

"... Good night," Jake called after them, faint amusement coloring his voice. Both paused to laugh slightly.

"Okay, you win, Rox. Good night, Jake," Jane giggled.

"Good _morning_," Roxy corrected.

"Will both of you just get over here and go to sleep already?" Dirk asked tiredly, raising his head from the couch cushions.

"How _are _we all supposed to fit on this thing, anyway?" Roxy wondered, examining the couch.

Jane shrugged and crossed the room first to set aside the empty hot chocolate mugs and then to settle herself on the couch with her head on Dirk's chest, loosely curled. He blinked in surprise but evidently was fine with the arrangement, draping one arm casually around her shoulders.

"That works." Roxy turned off the lamp and wearily plopped onto the couch as well, stretching out along the edge and tugging both Dirk's other arm and one of Jane's around herself before pulling the blanket over all three of them. "Now both of you had better make sure I don't fall off in the middle of the night—er, day," she warned sleepily, already lulled by the warmth of the blanket and her friends and by finally lying down.

"Mmm, we won't," Jane mumbled. Dirk made some noncommittal noise, and Roxy closed her eyes.

For a time, all was peaceful and quiet in the Crocker apartment.

* * *

_AN: Okay I'm so sorry for leaving this hanging so long, I was sick and then a bunch of depression and anxiety left me in no mood to write. Is an approximately 5700 word chapter enough recompense? :o Either way, this is finally here. I'm not too happy with the last section, but it is what it is. _

_If it wasn't clear, Jane had something akin to a panic attack in the first part. She's not trained in magic and just does what 'feels right', so during situations when she is out of her depth she doesn't know how to channel it properly. Basically she has a lot of potential but not much knowledge on how to use that._

_LordPeanut - This is true. I'm just going to be soooo upset if Jade stays dead D: Well, Jane got lucky here and no one died (yet). Hopefully this was close to expectations? :o_

_GoggleHeadOtaku - Hello and welcome to this ridiculous story of mine :) Jake is... Jake is something else. He just never thinks anything through._

_Snowy - Hi there again! Missed you last chapter haha. And no worries, we're all friends here right? I think you summed up Jake as accurately as possible in two words: heroic idiot. That's definitely him in a nutshell._


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